Protesters staged demonstrations outside the state secretariat on Monday, against the supply of spurious drugs in government run hospitals, and demanded action against the culprits.
Langate Constituency legislator, Engineer Rashid said: “We are protesting against the drug scam, the genocide in Kashmir and the inefficiency of the state government. No action has been taken against the concerned ministers including Sham Lal Sharma and others. The officers are just blaming others.”
India is large drugs industry produces cheap generic versions, is concerned that Western governments backed by major pharmaceutical companies are using the fight against fakes as a cover to restrict trade in unpatented medicines.
In developing countries, the WHO estimates that over 10 percent of medicines might be fake or of substandard quality.
India is particularly resistant to any role for pharmaceutical firms in setting the agenda.
The lack of a treaty means there is no agreement on which medicines are illegal and criminals can do business in countries where laws or enforcement are lax. There is also no requirement for police and prosecutors to cooperate across borders. (ANI)