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Karnataka launches first-of-its-kind digital drug surveillance system
Karnataka unveiled two digital platforms to monitor medicines: a NSQ surveillance portal that locks suspected substandard batches and notifies wholesalers, and an NDPS portal to curb misuse of regulated drugs by mandating patient and prescription details at sale. The move aims to improve drug quality control and supply-chain transparency, with recalls totaling ₹1.85 crore in 2025-26 and about 450 NSQ samples found annually.
Why It Matters
The system enables real-time action against substandard medicines and strengthens safeguards against misuse of controlled medicines, potentially reducing patient exposure to poor-quality drugs.
Timeline
2 Events
Launch of NSQ and NDPS digital surveillance portals in Bengaluru
May 14, 2026
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao launched two digital platforms to monitor Karnataka's pharmaceutical market. The NSQ portal immediately locks a drug batch once it is declared not of standard quality (NSQ) and sends alerts to wholesalers and distributors; nearly 15,000 wholesalers are registered on the platform. It provides real-time data on stock availability, stock-in-hand, and quantities returned to suppliers to help regulators track compliance and speed up recalls. The second portal focuses on medicines regulated under the NDPS Act, requiring retailers to upload and verify patient details, doctor details, and prescription information before sale to prevent misuse and to strengthen accountability at the retail level. In 2025-26, medicines worth around ₹1.85 crore were recalled after being identified as substandard; the system aims to reduce such risks by improving traceability.
Rao writes to Union Minister seeking national drug surveillance framework
May 2025
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said he wrote to the Union Minister requesting a national framework for drug surveillance about a year prior to the May 2026 launch; that framework had not materialised.