India’s top drug regulator, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), has flagged 167 medicines as unsafe in its December 2025 drug alert. These medicines were found to be “Not of Standard Quality (NSQ)” after testing by central and state laboratories.
According to the CDSCO, 74 drug samples were declared NSQ by Central Drugs Laboratories, while 93 samples were found unsafe by State Drugs Testing Laboratories. The list of such medicines is published every month on the CDSCO website as part of routine safety checks.
The regulator explained that a drug is marked NSQ when it fails to meet one or more quality standards. However, officials clarified that this issue is limited to the specific batch tested and does not automatically mean that other batches of the same medicine are unsafe.
Apart from quality failures, the CDSCO also identified seven spurious drug samples in December. These included four samples from the North Zone in Ghaziabad, and one sample each from Ahmedabad, Bihar, and Maharashtra. These drugs were made by unauthorised manufacturers who used brand names belonging to other companies.
The CDSCO said investigations are ongoing, and strict action will be taken under existing drug laws. The aim is to ensure such medicines are quickly removed from the market.
Health officials stressed that these checks are done regularly in coordination with state regulators to protect public health. The process shows that India’s drug safety system is active and alert.
In a separate update, the CDSCO also noted that 205 drug samples were declared NSQ in another round of testing in December, with 64 identified by central labs and 141 by state labs.
The regulator urged consumers not to panic and assured that steps are being taken to maintain medicine quality and safety across the country.
