Three per cent of drugs taken by Indians ‘substandard’, inspections reveal

In wake of last year’s children’s cough syrup scandal, an expert says regulatory system is ‘grossly understaffed and underfunctional’

About 3% of drugs routinely taken by Indians for ailments such as hypertension, bacterial infections and allergies are “substandard”, according to a study of samples taken from factories by government inspectors.

Officials have been carrying out random checks on factories after a scandal over Indian-made cough syrups linked to the deaths of children, mostly in countries in Africa.