DCGI chief Rajeev Raghuvanshi gets 1-year extension from govt

Raghuvanshi is set to superannuate on February 28.

The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Department of Healthcare and Family Welfare for re-employment of Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi as Drugs Controller (India), Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on contract basis for a period of one year with effect from 01.03.2025," said in a notification issued by Ramesh Chandra Jha, Under Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training.

Raghuvanshi is set to superannuate on February 28.

Raghuvanshi was appointed as the DCGI, head of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), the Indian drug regulatory body on February 1, 2023. When Raghuvanshi took charge, the Indian pharma industry was rocked by scandal related to tainted cough syrup that allegedly caused child deaths in Uzbekistan and Gambia.

Raghuvanshi has rejigged the team at CDSCO, shut down dozens of pharmaceutical manufacturing units that are not compliant to quality standards and brought a digital interface to cut physical interaction between pharma companies and CDSCO staff. He was also instrumental in bringing revised Schedule M for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to improve the quality and safety of manufacturing. The revised Schedule M was implemented on January 1, 2025.

While large sections of the Indian pharma industry and public health experts have welcomed his moves, his actions caused anxiety especially among small and medium enterprises who found the revised Schedule M regime to be challenging to adopt quickly as it required additional investments to upgrade facilities.

The revised Schedule M is more aligned to global benchmarks emphasizing a more robust quality system across the entire product lifecycle.

The SME pharma units below Rs 250 crore annual turnover got an extension till December 31, 2025 to comply with the revised Schedule M guidelines.