Context: The Union Health Ministry has proposed mandatory Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance at medical stores to curb the unauthorised sale and abuse of prescription medicines.
- A draft notification proposes that medical stores maintain CCTV recordings for three months.
- The proposal particularly targets the unauthorised sale of Schedule H, H1 and X medicines, including habit-forming and psychotropic drugs.
Why Has the Government Proposed CCTV Surveillance?
- The measure was initially proposed in 2021 to prevent prescription-drug abuse, particularly among children.
- Round-the-clock surveillance is intended to discourage pharmacists from selling prescription medicines to minors without a valid prescription.
- CCTV footage would primarily be used to verify complaints or suspected violations, rather than manually examining every transaction.
- The Drugs Consultative Committee under the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) decided to implement the proposed app-based monitoring and CCTV system earlier in 2026.
Understanding Schedule H, H1 and X Drugs
Schedule H
- Includes medicines that can be sold only on the prescription of a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP).
- The category includes several antibiotics and steroids.
Schedule H1
- Contains certain prescription medicines subject to stricter record-keeping requirements.
- It includes specified antibiotics and anti-tuberculosis medicines, among others.
- The additional documentation is intended to improve traceability and discourage inappropriate or unauthorised use.
Schedule X
- Represents a more tightly controlled category of prescription medicines.
- It includes certain psychotropic and habit-forming medicines.
- Sale and storage are subject to additional regulatory requirements because of their potential for abuse and dependence.
Prescription-Drug Addiction Among Children
- A comprehensive 2019 study by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) found opioid use among children at around 1.8%, making it the second-most common form of substance addiction in the study.
- Cannabis use affected around 1.9%, while alcohol use was reported at 1.3%.
- Inhalant use affected around 1.17% and was the only category reported as more prevalent among children than adults.
- Among an estimated 2.3 crore opioid users in India, around 25 lakh were dependent on pharmaceutical opioids, while approximately 63 lakh were dependent on heroin.
What Do Chemists and Pharmacists Oppose?
The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) has raised concerns over the proposed surveillance requirement.
- Financial Burden
- Installation could cost smaller pharmacies around ₹1 lakh, creating a disproportionate burden for stores with low daily turnover.
- Smaller pharmacies, particularly those with sales of only ₹5,000–10,000 a day, may find the requirement difficult to absorb.
- Infrastructure Challenges
- Power failures and poor internet connectivity, particularly in rural areas, could disrupt continuous CCTV surveillance.
- Maintaining and storing three months of recordings would also require additional hardware, electricity and digital storage infrastructure.
- Patient Privacy
- Chemists have argued that continuous recording inside medical stores could raise concerns over patient confidentiality and privacy.
- Medical purchases may reveal sensitive information about an individual's health conditions and treatment, making safeguards over access and retention of footage important.
- Regulatory Objective vs Implementation Concerns
- The proposal seeks to strengthen enforcement against unauthorised access to prescription medicines, especially among vulnerable groups such as children.
- However, effective implementation requires addressing the practical constraints faced by small pharmacies and rural medical stores.
- A proportionate framework would need to balance drug-control objectives, pharmacy compliance costs, infrastructure limitations and patient privacy.
Relevant Institutions
- Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation
- CDSCO is India's national regulatory authority for pharmaceuticals and medical devices under the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- It works with State drug-control authorities in regulating the quality, safety and efficacy of drugs.
- Drugs Consultative Committee
- The Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC) advises on ensuring uniform implementation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules across India.
- It provides a platform for coordination between the Central and State drug-control administrations.
