As oxygen demand dips after Covid, Karnataka to seek National Health Mission funds for upkeep of plants

Responding to a question by MLC Dr Yathindra S during the question hour at the Legislative Council, the minister said the state government had sought funds under the National Health Mission for the upkeep of these units. Among the reasons for the reduced demand was the low purity of oxygen supplied by these units.

In response to another question by MLC K Govindaraj, Rao said the government had cancelled the licences of 292 pharmaceutical outlets during the 2023-24 fiscal year, as per the provisions under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. As many as 21,694 inspections were carried out during the period, after which 1,245 outlets were suspended.

699 inspections in 2 years

In the past two years, the health department has conducted 699 inspections at pharmaceutical outlets due to complaints of illegal sale of narcotic substances. Of these, 494 inspections were performed in 2022-23 and 205 in 2023-24.

As per the data shared by the minister, 343 show-cause notices were issued following inspections in 2022-23 and 129 in 2023-24. Subsequently, 89 pharma licences were suspended: 65 in 2022-23 and 24 in 2023-24, and 23 cases were filed over the same.

Rao said there have been six convictions in recent years for violating the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, and prosecutions were filed in 20 cases.