The Aam Aadmi Party–led Punjab government has imposed a statewide ban on the sale and distribution of 112 medicines identified as substandard, following a report from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). The central drug regulator’s findings classified these drugs as “Not of Standard Quality (NSQ),” prompting immediate action from the state’s health department. The crackdown comes amid nationwide outrage and alarm after the deaths of several children were linked to the toxic cough syrup Coldrif in multiple states.
Punjab Health Minister Dr. Balbir Singh announced the decision through an official statement and a post on X, stressing that the health and safety of citizens remain the government’s foremost priority. “The Punjab government has imposed a strict ban on the sale of substandard medicines. Following the CDSCO report, the Health Department has directed the immediate removal of these medicines from the market,” he stated. He further appealed to the public to check the official list of banned medicines and refrain from using any of the listed products.
The health department published a detailed list specifying the names of the medicines, their batch numbers, manufacturing and expiry dates, manufacturer details, and the testing laboratories involved. The list also indicated whether the drugs were tested by state or central laboratories and marked them as “Not of Standard Quality.” According to the report, the findings were compiled and verified during September this year. Officials confirmed that district-level health officers and drug inspectors have been instructed to ensure that all listed medicines are completely withdrawn from circulation across pharmacies and hospitals.
This decisive action by the Punjab government coincides with growing scrutiny of the pharmaceutical supply chain after Coldrif, a cough syrup manufactured by a Tamil Nadu-based company, was found to contain dangerously high levels of Diethylene Glycol (DEG), a toxic chemical used in industrial solvents. DEG exposure is known to cause severe kidney damage and death, especially among children. Laboratory results revealed that instead of the permissible 0.1 per cent concentration, Coldrif samples contained an alarming 48.6 per cent DEG.
The contamination has already led to dozens of child fatalities across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, prompting multiple states — including Punjab, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh — to impose bans on Coldrif and related products. The Punjab government’s latest decision to purge substandard drugs from its markets is being seen as part of a broader nationwide movement to restore public confidence in medicine quality and regulatory oversight.
Law enforcement agencies have arrested several individuals linked to the Coldrif tragedy. Among them is Ranganathan Govindan, the owner of the now-defunct Tamil Nadu-based pharmaceutical firm responsible for manufacturing the syrup. He has been remanded in judicial custody in Madhya Pradesh, where more than 20 children died after consuming the toxic product. In addition, Dr. Praveen Soni — a physician from Chhindwara who prescribed Coldrif — along with his nephew Rajesh Soni, a medical wholesaler, and Saurabh Jain, a pharmacist at a store owned by Dr. Soni’s wife, have also been arrested and are currently in judicial custody.
The Coldrif episode has triggered a renewed debate on drug regulation and monitoring standards in India, highlighting the urgent need for tighter enforcement and routine quality checks by both state and central agencies. Punjab’s ban on the 112 substandard medicines represents one of the most comprehensive state-level responses to this crisis so far, reflecting a zero-tolerance policy toward any compromise in drug safety. The state health department has assured that it will continue to coordinate with CDSCO and other regulatory bodies to ensure that only verified, safe, and standard-quality medicines remain available to the public.
