Barcoded drugs to ensure safety, boost exports: Khullar

There is an urgent need to roll out track-and-trace barcoding technology in the Indian pharmaceutical sector to boost exports and ensure quality, the Commerce Secretary, Mr Rahul Khullar, said here on Tuesday.

He was addressing a conference-cum-exposition on ‘Track and Trace Bar-Coding Technology for Pharmaceuticals', organised by the PHD Chamber in New Delhi on Tuesday.

“This is important to ensure that not only are drugs cheap, but [that they are] genuine,” Mr Khullar said.

Mr Khullar said track-and-trace bar-coding would make even ordinary buyers “enforcers”, where a customer can buy a drug, message the barcode on the pack to the manufacturer and instantly know if the drug is genuine.

On barcoding technology, Mr L.C. Goyal, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, urged big pharma companies to create a fund to help propagate the technology.

On plans to provide essential medicines to citizens for free, Mr Goyal said, “The Government is in an advanced stage of setting up an autonomous drug-procurement agency at the Centre. We have also advised states to set up similar agencies.”