Drugs Control Department (DCD)
Mission
- The state Drugs Control Department ensures the quality and availability of all medicines. The department has successfully implemented initiatives to ensure that all life-saving drugs in the market are of the prescribed quality and that they are made available as per the required quantity and at prices notified by the Government from time to time.
Vision
- The laws enforced by the Department are as follows: Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 Drugs & Cosmetics Rules 1945 Medical Devices Rules 2017 Cosmetics Rules 2020 Drugs & Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements Act) 1954 Kerala Drugs and other Stores (Unlawful possession Act, 1971) Drugs Price Control Order 2013 Kerala Poison Rules, 1996 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Rules 1985
- The important statutory functions undertaken by the department are as follows: Licensing of Drug Manufacturing Units Licensing of the Sale of drugs Licensing of Blood Banks and blood Storage Centres (Joint Licensing system by the State; Central Government) Poison Licenses and Permits Allotment of Narcotic drugs Allotment of Oral Morphine Preparations for Palliative Care Centres Sampling & testing of drug samples Complaint investigation and action Inspection of premises of drug storage/blood banks Prosecution action against violation of Act Rules Licensing of Drug Testing Laboratories Prevention of sale of excessively priced drugs against the Drugs Price Control order, 2013 Prevention of manufacture, sale, and distribution of banned drugs in the State Detection of false and misleading advertisements of drugs Detection and prohibition of spurious, misbranded, and substandard drugs
- Online Services provided by the department: The main services provided by this department include grants of licenses for wholesale & retail sales of drugs, and manufacturing licenses for drugs, cosmetics & medical devices. The wholesale & retail sale licenses and their retention have been granted via online software (Extended Licensing Software) since 2014 and Medical device manufacturing licenses have been granted through online software (developed by CDAC) since 2017. However, due to the inadequate manpower support from the National Informatics Centre, Gujarat & due to the implementation of the Online National Drugs Licensing Portal throughout the country by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation in 2021, the department also launched this portal in October 2022 onwards. Now licenses for grant of manufacture of drugs (allopathic/homeopathic), cosmetics & sale of drugs are being issued through ONDLS.
The state drugs control department established in 1961 under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Kerala regulates the manufacture, distribution, and sale of drugs and cosmetics in the State, by implementing various Acts and Rules, to ensure the quality and purity of drugs. As Kerala is a consumer state, most of the medicines consumed in the state are supplied by manufacturers outside the state.
The Department has 6 Regional offices, 11 District Offices, 4 Ayurveda Wing Offices, and 2 Drugs Testing Laboratories throughout the State as follows:
Office of the Drugs Controller, Thiruvananthapuram Office of the Asst. Drugs Controller at Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur Drugs Testing Laboratory, Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam Office of the Drugs Inspector, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Palakkad, Wayanad, Kasaragod Ayurveda Drugs Control Wing, Thiruvananthapuram Office of the Drugs Inspector (Ayurveda), Kollam, Ernakulam, Kozhikode.
Red Cross Road, Vanchiyoor PO
Thiruvananthapuram – 695035
Telephone :
0471-2471896
0471-2473256
0471-2471604
dckerala@gmail.com