Telangana DCA cracks down on online pharmacies, inspects 166 shops

Telangana's Drugs Control Administration inspected 166 medical shops linked to online pharmacies in a special drive. Show Cause Notices were issued to 41 shops for irregularities like selling drugs without prescriptions and improper record-keeping.

Telangana's Drugs Control Administration (DCA) on Sunday conducted a special enforcement drive on online pharmacies across the state on June 6, 2026, to check compliance with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. During the drive, officials inspected 166 medical shops. Of these, 159 were linked to online medicine delivery services, including licensed premises of online pharmacy operators and their networked partner pharmacies. Seven shops were associated with online B2B platforms such as IndiaMART.

According to the DCA offical, "Drugs Control Administration, Telangana, conducted a Special Enforcement Drive on online pharmacies across the State on 6 th June 2026 to verify practices and ensure compliance with the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules made thereunder. During the drive, a total of 166 medical shops were inspected." These included 159 shops linked to online medicine delivery services (licensed premises of online pharmacy operators or their networked partner pharmacies) and 7 shops associated with online B2B platforms such as IndiaMART, the Drugs Control Administration stated.

Irregularities Uncovered During Inspections

Director General Drugs Control Administration informed that "the irregularities observed during the inspections include non-maintenance and failure to produce sales bills of medicines, failure to maintain prescription drug registers and Schedule H1 drug registers, failure to produce purchase invoices for medicines, dispensing of prescription medicines without valid prescriptions issued by a Registered Medical Practitioner, sale of medicines without the supervision of a Registered Pharmacist, and improper maintenance of copies of sales and purchase records."

Action Taken and Official Warning

According to DCA, Show Cause Notices were issued to 41 medical shops across the State linked to online pharmacies, and further action will be initiated as per the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the Rules made thereunder. The DCA reiterates that strict compliance with statutory requirements is mandatory for all medical shops, including those associated with online platforms. Any deviation from the prescribed norms will attract stringent action under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, Director General Drugs Control Administration stated.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)