The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has submitted a ₹500 crore proposal to revive and expand a Centrally Sponsored Scheme aimed at upgrading drug testing laboratories, addressing manpower shortages, and enhancing overall regulatory enforcement to ensure higher standards of medicine safety, efficacy, and quality across the state.
Glimpse:
Submitted recently to the state government (with plans to forward it to the Centre), the proposal follows the expiry of the previous scheme on March 31, 2025. It adopts a 60:40 cost-sharing model between the Centre and Maharashtra. Key priorities include completing pending infrastructure in Pune and Nashik labs, installing equipment, recruiting technical staff, and filling critical vacancies among drug inspectors (only 45 out of 200 sanctioned posts currently filled). The initiative seeks to boost testing capacity and enforcement amid growing pharmaceutical activity in the state.
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has put forward an ambitious ₹500 crore proposal to significantly strengthen the state’s drug regulatory system and laboratory infrastructure. The plan seeks to revive a Centrally Sponsored Scheme that concluded on March 31, 2025, with the goal of modernising testing facilities, expanding manpower, and improving enforcement capabilities to better safeguard public health.
Under the proposed scheme, which follows a 60% Central and 40% state funding model, the FDA intends to upgrade existing drug testing laboratories and address long-standing operational gaps. Civil construction work has already been completed at facilities in Pune and Nashik during the earlier phase (which had a total outlay of ₹136 crore), but these labs remain non-operational due to delays in equipment installation, internal setup, and recruitment of technical personnel. The new proposal emphasises making these labs fully functional at the earliest.
A major challenge highlighted in the proposal is the acute shortage of drug inspectors. Out of 200 sanctioned posts statewide, only 45 are currently filled. The situation is particularly severe in Mumbai, where just seven inspectors are working against a requirement of 21. This manpower crunch has affected routine inspections, drug sampling, and compliance monitoring. The ₹500 crore plan includes provisions to recruit both technical staff for laboratories and field level officers to improve surveillance and speed up testing processes.
The core objective of the initiative is to ensure that all medicines available in the Maharashtra market meet stringent standards of safety, efficacy, and quality. Officials believe that enhanced laboratory capacity and a stronger enforcement team will help tackle issues arising from the state’s expanding pharmaceutical sector and rising demand for robust quality control mechanisms.
The proposal has been sent to the state government and is expected to be forwarded to the central government for necessary approvals. If cleared, it could mark a substantial boost to Maharashtra’s ability to regulate drugs effectively and protect consumers.
“The main goal of the scheme is to ensure that medicines available in the market are safe, effective, and meet quality standards.”
By
HB Team
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