Telangana DCA seeks 100 more drug inspectors as enforcement load outpaces manpower

The Telangana Drugs Control Administration (DCA) is operating under a manpower constraint that senior officials say is no longer proportionate with the scale and complexity of the pharmaceutical ecosystem it is expected to regulate. This comes at a time when the enforcement responsibilities continue to expand across retail, wholesale, manufacturing and laboratory surveillance.

At present, the DCA oversees nearly 50,000 regulated units across the State, including around 48,000 retail medical shops, about 760 manufacturing units and a large number of wholesale establishments. Against this, the number of drug inspectors stands at just about 65 to 70, supported by a small team at its headquarters and a laboratory staff strength of roughly 10 to 15 personnel. 

Speaking to The Hindu, Director General of Telangana DCA, Shahnawaz Qasim, said: “A proposal seeking recruitment of at least 100 additional drug inspectors was recently submitted to the government. The plan envisages a five-year budgetary roadmap, with the initial phase focused on strengthening laboratory capacity, followed by expansion of field-level enforcement. 

The manpower crunch has direct implications for enforcement timelines. While the department has mandated that action on not-of-standard-quality (NSQ) medicines must be initiated within 21 days, inspectors are often stretched between inspections, court appearances, joint operations with central agencies and administrative duties. In several cases, a single inspector is required to handle as many as 25 inspections while simultaneously coordinating with the police, attending court hearings and participating in joint inspections with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

Despite these constraints, Mr. Qasim said that the DCA has maintained strict enforcement standards. Following inspections, show-cause notices are issued and depending on the severity of violations, licences are suspended or cancelled, or warnings are issued with mandatory follow-up inspections. “All enforcement actions are reflected in the monthly reports submitted to the CDSCO,” he added.

To bolster testing and surveillance capacity, renovation of the Central Drugs Testing Laboratory (CDTL)  is currently underway using central grants, with second phase of upgradation also in progress. “Proposals have additionally been sent for setting up three regional laboratories at Mahbubnagar, Nizamabad and Warangal, which would supplement the central facility and reduce delays in sample testing,” said Mr. Qasim.