Standing committee report on CDSCO: hard facts confirm an open secret.

You would think the mandate of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) is to ensure that medicines on the Indian market are safe, effective, and necessary for public health. But the government thinks differently. According to a statement by the ministry to the Department Related Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare (1), the CDSCO’s mission as stated in the committee’s report, is to “meet the aspirations.... demands and requirements of the pharmaceutical industry”. (1:8). It is no wonder, then, that this industry can do just about anything it wants, at the cost of people’s health.