Steps taken for Testing and Surveillance of Drugs

• CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation), under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, regulates drug quality jointly with State Drug Controllers (SDCs) under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940.
• Topic covers risk-based inspections, sampling, NSQ (Not of Standard Quality) detection, laboratory expansion and ranking of state regulators — examinable under GS-II (Health) and GS-III (S&T regulation).
• Recent push: ~5 lakh drug samples tested in 5 years; ₹756 crore central share released for strengthening drug testing labs.