Health Ministry expands QR code-based drug traceability to vaccines, antimicrobials and cancer medicines

📌 Summary:

• The Union Health Ministry has notified amendments to the Drugs Rules, 1945 to expand the ambit of Schedule H2 and bring additional drug categories under the QR code-based track-and-trace framework
• Newly included under Schedule H2: all vaccines, all antimicrobials, narcotic and psychotropic drugs covered under the NDPS Act, 1985, and all anti-cancer drugs
• Aim: curb counterfeit/spurious drugs and enable authentication and supply-chain traceability via QR codes on packaging

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 (Governance / Health) — drug regulation, patient safety, combating counterfeit medicines, and the use of e-governance/technology in pharmaceutical supply chains.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Schedule H2 of the Drugs Rules, 1945 now covers vaccines, antimicrobials, NDPS-listed narcotics/psychotropics and anti-cancer drugs
• The QR code enables "track-and-trace" authentication of medicines
• NDPS Act = Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985

🔑 Key Term: Track-and-trace (QR code) — a system embedding a unique scannable code on drug packaging to verify authenticity and trace a medicine's movement through the supply chain.