Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has emphasized the need to strengthen the state’s drug control system to ensure the quality and safety of medicines.
He directed that the post of District Drug Control Officer be created to further streamline operations at the district level.
The Chief Minister stated that the number of drug inspectors should be doubled from the current level. To make the recruitment process more transparent, fair, and merit-based, he announced that written examinations would replace interviews for these posts.
The Chief Minister was reviewing proposals related to the reorganization of the drug control cadre and the creation of new posts at a high-level meeting of the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) Department held here on Friday.
He stressed the importance of ensuring adequate deployment of drug inspectors in all districts and called for the implementation of effective supervision and timely inspection systems at the district level.
It was informed during the meeting that the department currently employs 109 drug inspectors, which falls short of the Government of India’s standards.
The Chief Minister said that aligning the state’s drug inspection system with national benchmarks is vital for public health and safety.
The meeting also discussed the reorganization of senior positions within the drug control cadre. The Chief Minister approved proposals to increase the number of Deputy Commissioner (Drugs) posts and to amend the qualifying service criteria for promotion to Joint Commissioner (Drugs).
He further directed the department to establish clear qualifications and standards for the position of Drug Controller and to fix a definite tenure for the role to ensure strong leadership and accountability at the top level of the system.