Health ministry notifies Navi Mumbai airport as designated port of entry for import of drugs
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Union Health Ministry has added Navi Mumbai Airport in Maharashtra to its list of designated airports permitted for the import of drugs. The decision is a significant step towards strengthening the pharmaceutical supply chain and facilitating ease of trade, Health Ministry said in an official statement.
With the latest addition, there will be 12 airports through which pharmaceutical products can be imported by air into India. The other 11 existing airports where such imports are allowed are Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Goa, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram.
With Navi Mumbai in the list, the number of overall ports of entry that include road, rail, ship, and air routes will touch 42.
The health ministry statement said the amendment is expected to facilitate smoother movement of pharmaceutical consignments, strengthen logistics infrastructure, and provide greater flexibility to importers by adding a new alternative for import of medicines into India.
The initiative is in line with the government's continued efforts to strengthen the regulatory framework, improve trade facilitation, and promote ‘Ease of Doing Business’ while ensuring effective regulatory oversight of imported drugs, the statement adds.
The Rule 43A of Drugs Rules, 1945, restricts the entry of drugs to the designated places. For instance, Firozepur Cantonment and Amritsar Railway Stations are the designated port of entry by rail in case the drugs are imported across the frontier with Pakistan. Similarly, Ranaghat, Bongaon, and Mohiassan railway stations are the designated entry points in respect of drugs imported by rail across the frontier with Bangladesh. If the import of medicines from Bangladesh is by road, the ports of entry will be Petrapole Road in West Bengal, Sutarkandi in Assam, old Raghna Bazar and Agartala in Tripura.
Similarly, Raxaul is the port of entry for both rail and road transport if the medicines are coming from Nepal. When it comes to sea route, Tuticorin and Kamrajar Port in Tamil Nadu, Marmugao port in Goa, Visakhapatnam and Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram ports in Andhra Pradesh, Gandhinagar and Mundra Port in Gujarat , are among the designated ports of entry.
With the latest amendment to Drugs Rules, 1945, Navi Mumbai airport joins this list of designated entry points for the import of drugs.