Tukaram Mundhe’s ‘Double Standards’? Why Maharashtra Pharmacists Are Unhappy With FDA Chief

News india Tukaram Mundhe’s ‘Double Standards’? Why Maharashtra Pharmacists Are Unhappy With FDA Chief

Last Updated:October 23, 2026, 20:00 IST

Led by chemist associations, pharmacists have raised several specific grievances over Tukaram Mundhe's crackdown

Pharmacists in Maharashtra are unhappy with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe due to what they perceive as a glaring “double standards" in regulatory enforcement between traditional brick-and-mortar medical stores and online e-pharmacies.

Led by chemist associations, pharmacists have raised several specific grievances, according to News18 Marathi and other reports.

Strict Enforcement on Physical Stores: Under Mundhe’s strict directives, the FDA has heavily cracked down on traditional pharmacies. In physical retail stores, the FDA mandates the mandatory physical presence of a qualified pharmacist. If a pharmacist is found absent during an inspection, the FDA immediately moves to suspend or cancel the shop’s license. Furthermore, traditional stores are heavily penalised for selling partial medicine strips, selling schedule drugs without a strict prescription, or allowing a single pharmacist to register at multiple locations.

Alleged Lenient Approach Toward E-Pharmacies: The core of the pharmacists’ anger stems from the allegation that the FDA is turning a blind eye to illegal online medicine sales and e-pharmacies. Traditional chemists, such as those represented by Pune chemist associations, question why the same stringent rules are not applied to digital platforms.

Public Safety and Illegal Distribution Risks: Pharmacists argue that by ignoring online violations, the FDA is allowing major safety risks to go unchecked. They point out that e-pharmacies frequently distribute medicines without verified, official doctor prescriptions. This lack of oversight reportedly facilitates easier access to restricted or habit-forming drugs, minors obtaining medications unlawfully, and the unchecked sale of critical products like medical abortion pills.

Traditional retailers feel they are being heavily policed and penalised for routine compliance matters, while large digital corporations are allowed to bypass critical drug safety laws unchecked.

TUKARAM MUNDHE’S CRACKDOWN

Since taking charge as the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner on May 25, 2026, IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe has spearheaded a massive, high-intensity regulatory campaign. In his first 100 days at the helm, the department transitioned into an aggressive enforcement era, causing public complaints to surge by 557% and formal investigations to spike by 378% compared to the quarterly averages of the previous fiscal year. Driven by the “Safe Food, Safe Medicines, Safe Maharashtra" mandate, the FDA conducted a staggering 12,083 food establishment inspections.

This resulted in 904 raids, 457 arrests, the sealing of 322 establishments—including quick-commerce dark stores and prominent restaurant chains—and the suspension of 603 food licences. The food safety wing also seized or destroyed massive quantities of fake, synthetic, or adulterated stock (such as dairy products and oil) valued at ₹34.7 crore, alongside separate major operations that confiscated ₹19.62 crore worth of banned gutkha and pan masala.

On the pharmaceutical and drug regulation front, the crackdown was equally unyielding, with the monthly average of pharmacy and manufacturing checks jumping 4.6-fold. Between June and September 2026, the FDA performed 4,256 drug inspections, leading to 856 licence suspensions, 288 absolute licence cancellations, 33 FIRs, and 14 arrests. The agency strictly penalised violations such as dispensing medicines without a registered pharmacist present, improper inventory maintenance, and the lack of valid doctor prescriptions, altogether resulting in the seizure of illegal, mislabelled, or substandard medicines and cosmetics valued at ₹19.11 crore.

About the Author

Manjiri Joshi

At the news desk for 20 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing speci...Read More

Read More