3 min readNew DelhiMay 19, 2026 03:00 AM IST
THE ALL India Association of Chemists and Druggists — the country’s largest association of 12.4 lakh chemists, pharmacists, and drug distributors — has decided to go ahead with a nation-wide strike on May 20. The association has demanded that two notifications — which allegedly allow operation of e-pharmacies within loopholes — be withdrawn.
“There is a growing concern about e-pharmacies and instant delivery apps filling wrong or fake prescriptions. And, this has been possible because of the regulatory lacunae left by the drug regulator. We understand that online pharmacies are here to stay, but they should be regulated as rigorously as the brick and mortar ones. This is the reason we have asked the government to withdraw the GSR 220 E and GSR 817 E notifications that have allowed these pharmacies to operate in a legal grey zone,” said Rajiv Singhal, general secretary of association.
Representatives of the association met with the apex drug controller late last month, but decided to go ahead with the strike, considering that they were assured of only a review of the matter. Singhal said the GSR 817 E is an eight-year-old draft notification that was never notified or withdrawn. “The review has been going on for years,” he said.
The draft notification tried to create a framework for the operation of e-pharmacies in India, instituting a process for their registration, norms that have to be followed, checks and balances that they needed to have such as verifying the authenticity of a prescription, and a way to take action against these pharmacies for violating the norms. With this not having been notified, the e-pharmacies operate without any legal framework.
The GSR 220 E was notified amidst the pandemic allowing pharmacies with a registration to provide door-step delivery. This is now exploited by e-pharmacies, said Singhal. “This was an emergency measure for the pandemic. This notification should now be withdrawn and a proper framework should be established for the e-pharmacies.”
He said the e-pharmacies, owned by big corporations in most cases, also followed business practices such as predatory pricing that has negatively affected the brick and mortar stores. “Not only are they dispensing prescriptions without checking the authenticity, … they are also offering deep discounts, sometimes over 50%. The corporations can pump in their profits to offer such discounts but it is not possible for small shops to do that. This leads to unfair competition. We want such practices to be regulated.”
Health Ministry officials maintained that the drug regulator is looking into the matter.
