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National drugs authority proposed

The Union government plans to introduce a bill in the Parliament to institute a national drug authority which would monitor and control the manufacture and marketing of drugs in India.

Although a formal announcement to this effect has yet to come from the government, the proposed formation of the body was conveyed to the Supreme Court in November by Additional Solicitor General K T S Tulsi. He announced this at the hearing of a writ petition filed by the Drug Action Forum, a consumer action group, seeking a ban on some combinations of antibiotics and injectable contraceptives for being health risks. In the course of the hearing, the court suggested that a statutory body should be formed to assess all controversial drugs.

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