What is the story about?
Buying cough syrups will now require a doctor's prescription after the Centre amended the Drugs Rules, 1945, bringing all syrups under stricter regulation. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) issued a gazette notification formalising the change, which removes the term 'syrup' from Schedule K of the rules.
Schedule K lists items that may be sold by licensed pharmacies and exempts the purchase of certain medicines from specific requirements under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, according to reports.
The change follows the notification of the Drugs (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2026, issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare on June 9. The notification stated that the rules "shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette".
The notification stated that the government made the amendment by exercising its powers under Sections 12 and 33 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act after consulting the Drugs Technical Advisory Board.
The change became official after no objections were received following the release of its draft notification in December 2025.
The amendment comes after incidents involving contaminated cough syrups.
In 2025, around 24 children died in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh after consuming cough syrup contaminated with diethylene glycol. The affected syrups were from domestic batches of 'Coldrif', manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals.
Similar cases involving children dying after consuming contaminated or faulty syrups made in India have also been reported in other countries, including Uzbekistan.
Schedule K lists items that may be sold by licensed pharmacies and exempts the purchase of certain medicines from specific requirements under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, according to reports.
The change follows the notification of the Drugs (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2026, issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare on June 9. The notification stated that the rules "shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette".
The notification stated that the government made the amendment by exercising its powers under Sections 12 and 33 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act after consulting the Drugs Technical Advisory Board.
The change became official after no objections were received following the release of its draft notification in December 2025.
Decision follows deaths linked to contaminated syrups
The amendment comes after incidents involving contaminated cough syrups.
In 2025, around 24 children died in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh after consuming cough syrup contaminated with diethylene glycol. The affected syrups were from domestic batches of 'Coldrif', manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals.
Similar cases involving children dying after consuming contaminated or faulty syrups made in India have also been reported in other countries, including Uzbekistan.
