News: The government has notified hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, under Schedule-H1 to regulate and restrict the sale and distribution of the drug.
Facts:
Classification of Drugs in India: The Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, provides for classification of drugs into different schedules.
| Schedule | Features |
| Schedule H1 | Aims to check the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, anti-TB and some other drugs.Cannot be sold without a valid prescription. Package of the drugs has a mandatory warning printed in a box with a red colour border. |
| Schedule H | Cannot be sold without a valid prescription. Labels of any Schedule H drug must display the text “Rx” on the top left corner of the label |
| Schedule X | Labels of any Schedule X drug must display the text “XRx” on the top left corner of the label. Includes narcotic and psychotropic substances-based drugs.Cannot be sold without a valid prescription. Drug retailer has to preserve the copy of the prescription for two years |
