In the midst of cough syrup deaths, CAG exposes the health services of the MP, shocking revelations in the report -amid cough syrup -deaths auditor flags Madhya Pradesh Mega purchase of banned drugs

Updated: Fri, 10 Oct 2025 08:24 PM (IST) After the death of children due to toxic cough syrup in Madhya Pradesh, the CAG report exposed serious defects in the state’s drug procurement system. Mpphscl continued to acquire banned drugs and endanger public health. The corporation bought forbidden drugs to the value of rupees, which include combinations such as Metronidazole + Norfloxacin and Azithromycin + Cefixime. Cag exposed the negligence of the Department of Health, which poses a threat to public health. Great revelation regarding medicine in CAG report. Digital Desk, New -Delhi. On the one hand, Madhya Pradesh struggles with the tragic death of 23 children as a result of toxic cough medicine, while on the other hand a new revelation by the controller and auditor general (CAG) has exposed a deep crisis in the state’s drug regulation and acquisition system. Remove ads Read only news The CAG report 2024-25 reveals that Madhya Pradesh Public Health Services Corporation Limited (MPPHSCL) continued to purchase and distribute drugs that were explicitly banned for human use by the government of India, which posed a serious threat to public health. What was revealed in the report? Between 2017 and 2022, the corporation entered tariff contracts (fixed price agreements) worth Rs 1.5 crore from pharmaceutical enterprises for these banned drugs and bought medicines worth Rs 22.9 lakh by local tenders at district level, which took the total value of banned drug acquisition to Rs 1.8 crore. According to the CAG report, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) notified a list of 518 medicines and fixed dose combinations prohibited by the Medicine and Cosmetics Act, 1940. MPPHSCL facilitated the acquisition, despite this, the CAG found that MPPHSCL performed not only tariff contracts for such medicines, but also facilitated their acquisition by state health institutions. The prohibited medicine obtained included a fixed dose combination of Metronidazol + Norfloxacin (which is an antibacterial and anti-amoebian), which has been banned since March 10, 2016, but is provided by contracts of October 27, 2016 and July 1, 2017, worth Rs 32.1 Lakh. The combination of azithromycin + cefixime (which is antimicrobial) was also banned in 2016, but the acquisition worth Rs 1.2 crore was made by contracts from 7 July 2018 and 16 August 2020. The Department of Health did not take precautions. Cag said that if the corporation and the Department of Health took proper precaution and removed this medicine from the tender list, such acquisition could have been completely avoided. The report detected the timeline and said that the center banned a fixed dose of drug combinations, including Metronidazol + Norfloxacin and Azithromycin + Cefixime in 2016, and the Supreme Court upheld the ban in December 2017. The center confirmed the ban on a new notice on September 7, 2018. Madhya Pradesh’s health officials have continued to indicate their purchases and indicate that some are combined. Kit form (in prepackaged sets), which rejected the CAG as unacceptable. The audit concludes that the non-compliance with these repeated notices and court orders by the state corporation is great negligence, which jeopardizes public health in government hospitals and primary health centers.