Parliament Question: Complaints on AYUSH Suraksha Portal

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AYUSH LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2160 TO BE ANSWERED ON 31.7.2026 Complaints on AYUSH Suraksha Portal

2160. Smt. Aparajita Sarangi:

Will the Minister of AYUSH be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has assessed the reasons for the registration of over 10,000 complaints including those relating to misleading advertisements on the AYUSH Suraksha Portal despite the existing regulatory framework and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether this indicates gaps in monitoring, enforcement and compliance by manufacturers, advertisers and practitioners of AYUSH products and if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the measures being taken by the Government to strengthen surveillance, ensure time-bound action against violators and prevent the recurrence of misleading claims in the interest of consumer safety? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF AYUSH (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV)

(a) to (b) Ministry of Ayush has launched an IT enabled online portal “Ayush Suraksha” to facilitate real-time reporting, monitoring and regulatory oversight of misleading advertisements related to Ayush drugs. The portal is integrated with State/UTs (Ayush) Licensing Authorities, and Central Government bodies like Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoI&B), Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM), National Commission for Homoeopathy (NCH), Press Council of India

(PCI) and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for taking appropriate action.

The portal allows consumers, Ayush healthcare professionals to report Misleading Advertisements (MLAs) / Objectionable Advertisements (OAs), Adverse Drug Reactions

(ADRs) and regulatory authorities to monitor them. All complaints on the portal can be reviewed by National Pharmacovigilance Coordination Centre (NPvCC) and Ministry of Ayush, thus promoting transparency and accountability in the regulatory framework. The reporting of complaints through the portal is primarily an outcome of the strengthened digital surveillance and reporting mechanism, which has enhanced the accessibility and efficiency of reporting by both the public and the Pharmacovigilance network. The receipt of complaints reflects increased vigilance, improved reporting, and enhanced monitoring of misleading advertisements.

1(c) To control and prohibition of misleading advertisements and exaggerated claims of drugs, the notified officers under State/UT Governments are empowered to enforce the provisions of Drugs & Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 & Rules there under.

Accordingly, directives have been issued to the States/UTs for appointing Officers to enter, search any premises or examine or seize any record related to the alleged misleading or improper advertisements and initiate action against the cases of default.

Further, following actions have been taken by the Ministry to strengthen surveillance, ensure time-bound action against violators and prevent the recurrence of misleading claims in the interest of consumer safety- i. Ministry of Ayush is implementing a Central Sector Scheme, namely Ayush Oushadhi Gunavatta evam Uttpadan Samvardhan Yojana (AOGUSY). The scheme has interalia one of the component, “Pharmacovigilance Program for ASU & H Drugs” with its major objectives to undertake surveillance of misleading advertisements, enabling timely detection and reporting to the concerned regulatory authorities for appropriate action. The program is working through a three-tier network of a National Pharmacovigilance Centre (NPvCC), 05 Intermediary Pharmacovigilance Centres (IPvCs) and 97 Peripheral Pharmacovigilance Centres (PPvCs) established across the country.

ii. To enhance public awareness on Ayush medicines and its objectionable advertisements, a total of 4,165 awareness programmes have been conducted under the Pharmacovigilance Program benefiting 3,71,477 participants.

iii. Further Central Government has notified the Coordinator, National Pharmacovigilance Coordination Centre, All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi, under Information Technology Act, 2000 as the nodal officer for the purpose of issuing notice to intermediaries in relation to any information, data or communication link residing in or connected to a computer resource controlled by the intermediary being used to commit the unlawful act, in respect to the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act, 2020 and the National Commission for Homeopathy Act, 2020.

iv. All the complaints received through the ‘Ayush Suraksha’ portal are systematically examined and forwarded to the concerned regulatory authorities for appropriate action, in accordance with their respective jurisdictions v. Under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued an advisory dated 14.07.2022 regarding the sale of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani Drugs containing ingredients listed in Schedule E (1) of the Drugs Rules, 1945 on e-commerce platforms with valid prescription of Ayush Registered Practitioners.

vi. Circulars and advisories with the objective of curbing the dissemination of false, misleading, or unsubstantiated information regarding Homoeopathy have been issued by The Board of Ethics and Registration for Homoeopathy (BERH), National Commission for Homoeopathy.

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