Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is described as a 'silent pandemic.' Discuss how supply chain digitisation under Schedule H2 can contribute to India's AMR containment strategy.

Q. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is described as a 'silent pandemic.' Discuss how supply chain digitisation under Schedule H2 can contribute to India's AMR containment strategy. (15 marks, 250 words)

AMR — pathogens surviving the drugs meant to kill them — spreads without visible outbreaks yet ranks among WHO's top ten global health threats [1]. Expanding Schedule H2 QR-code traceability to antimicrobials (notified June 2026) embeds supply-chain integrity into India's AMR fight [2].

AMR: the silent pandemic - WHO flags AMR as driving untreatable infections and rising mortality, quietly eroding modern medicine [1]. - India is a hotspot — high antibiotic consumption, over-the-counter sale, and grey-market diversion accelerate resistance.

How Schedule H2 digitisation helps - Unit-level QR/bar code on antimicrobials (effective 1 July 2028) enables end-to-end traceability: manufacturer → distributor → pharmacy → patient [2]. - Curbs spurious/sub-standard antibiotics — sub-therapeutic doses are a prime driver of resistance. - Chokes grey-market and cross-border diversion; enables rapid batch recall and pharmacovigilance. - Digital audit trail strengthens CDSCO and state drug-controller enforcement, complementing the surveillance pillar of NAP-AMR 2.0 (2025–29) [3].

Limits to note - Traceability ≠ rational prescribing; overuse in humans, livestock and agriculture stays untouched. - Digital divide — rural chemists and patient-end scanning remain weak. - Needs a central QR repository and portal integration to be meaningful.

Supply-chain digitisation makes the antimicrobial chain visible and accountable — necessary but not sufficient. Paired with NAP-AMR 2.0's One Health surveillance and stewardship [3], Schedule H2 advances SDG-3 and a resistance-secure health system.

(~250 words)

Sources: 1. WHO — Antimicrobial resistance fact sheet — AMR as a top global public-health threat / "silent pandemic" 2. PIB, MoHFW — QR code drug traceability expanded to vaccines, antimicrobials, anti-cancer drugs (Schedule H2, Drugs Rules 1945), 25 June 2026 — Schedule H2 QR mandate, coverage, phased enforcement dates 3. PIB / DGHS, MoHFW — National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance 2.0 (2025–2029) — surveillance, stewardship, One Health pillars of India's AMR strategy