To curb the sale of medicines without a doctor's prescription, the Central Government is going to make a major change in the drug rules, now it will be mandatory to keep strict surveillance by installing CCTV cameras in every medical store.

CCTV cameras will be mandatory at medical stores.

The government is now tightening its grip on medical stores that sell medicines without a doctor's prescription. The Health Ministry, in a draft notification issued on September 8, 2026, proposed amendments to the Drugs Rules 1945, requiring medical stores to install CCTV cameras. Interestingly, this government decision comes at a time when a large survey of local circles revealed that 64 percent of consumers in the country find that their medical stores rarely or never ask for a doctor's prescription. More than 160,000 people from 327 districts across the country participated in this survey.

What is the new proposal of the government?

The new draft proposes to add a new sub-rule (2A) after Drugs Rule 65(2), requiring that any prescription drug be supplied under CCTV surveillance. Its primary purpose is to monitor the sale of Schedule H, H1, and X drugs and prevent their sale without a valid prescription. This proposal has been approved by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board after discussion within the Drugs Consultative Committee, and the Ministry has now sought public comments and suggestions.

Schedule H includes medicines for many serious diseases.

Schedule H includes medications that cannot be dispensed without a doctor's advice and prescription. These include drugs used to treat cancer, blood pressure, heart disease, allergies, and many other serious illnesses. This isn't just a list of medications for a single illness; it includes a wide variety of important medications, the misuse of which can be dangerous to health.

Why is a CCTV system considered necessary?

The Health Ministry wants to ensure that medicines are sold in accordance with established regulations. Therefore, a proposal has been made to install CCTV cameras in medical stores. This will make it easier to track which medicines are being sold to which customers without a prescription. Furthermore, there are some medicines that are at risk of misuse or abuse for drug abuse, so special attention will be paid to the sale and record-keeping of such medicines.

What came out in the survey?

The most surprising finding of the Local Circles survey was that 64 percent of consumers said their local chemist never or rarely asked for a prescription, while only 15 percent said their chemist dispensed medications mostly or always by prescription. Similarly, only 31 percent received help from a qualified pharmacist most of the time, while 13 percent reported that the person at the store who helped them was not a qualified pharmacist at all.