Centre Proposes Mandatory CCTV at Medical Stores Selling Schedule H, H1 and X Drugs
New Delhi: Medical stores selling prescription drugs under Schedule H, H1 and X may soon be required to install CCTV surveillance systems, under draft rules issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to tighten monitoring of the sale of such medicines.
The ministry has proposed an amendment to the Drugs Rules, 1945, aimed at strengthening oversight of prescription medicines and preventing their sale without a prescription from a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP).
According to the draft notification dated September 5, 2026, any person engaged in the supply, otherwise than by way of wholesale dealing, of drugs specified in the prescription of a Registered Medical Practitioner will have to operate under a Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance system installed and maintained for this purpose.
The proposal further requires CCTV recordings to be preserved for a minimum period of three months. This would create a record of retail sales at medical stores that can be referred to as part of regulatory oversight.
The proposed amendment follows deliberations on tighter controls over prescription medicines, particularly drugs falling under Schedule H, H1 and X. These categories cover medicines whose sale is subject to prescription and other regulatory requirements.
What are Schedule H, H1 and X Drugs
These are prescription medicines that cannot be legally sold over the counter without a doctor’s prescription. While Schedule H covers a broad range of prescription drugs, Schedule H1 and Schedule X medicines are subject to tighter controls because of factors such as antibiotic resistance, misuse or dependence potential.
The notification has been issued as a draft amendment and has not yet come into force. The rules will take effect from a date to be specified by the Central Government when the final notification is published in the Official Gazette.
The government has invited objections and suggestions from people likely to be affected by the proposed rules. Feedback can be submitted within 30 days from the date on which copies of the Gazette containing the draft rules are made available to the public.
Objections and suggestions can be addressed to the Under Secretary (Drugs), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, at FDA Bhawan, Kotla Road, New Delhi. The notification states that representations received within the stipulated period will be considered by the Central Government before the rules are finalised.
The proposed change will be introduced through an additional sub-rule under Rule 65 of the Drugs Rules, 1945. The draft notification was issued after consultation with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board under provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
If notified in its present form, the amendment would make CCTV surveillance and preservation of recordings for at least three months a regulatory requirement for medical stores covered by the provision.
