Cough syrup that killed Rajasthani child failed 40 tests
What's the story
A controversial cough syrup, linked to a child's death in Rajasthan's Sikar district, failed quality tests 40 times in the last two years, India Today reported. Despite these failures, the state drug control and procurement systems continued to supply the syrup through the Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation Limited (RMSCL). The samples failed quality tests across various districts including Bhilwara, Sikar, Bharatpur, Ajmer, Udaipur, Jaipur, Banswara and Jodhpur.
Procurement concerns
Systemic issues in drug procurement, quality control
The repeated failures of the cough syrup highlight systemic issues in drug procurement and quality control under Rajasthan's free medicine scheme. Kaysons, the company that manufactures the syrup, was initially blacklisted but was later allowed back into the tender process. Investigative findings suggest that if one private lab declares a drug substandard, Kaysons gets it cleared from another lab with possible collusion from officials to secure fresh supply contracts.
Scheme scrutiny
Over 100 samples fail every year
An investigation by Aaj Tak, a sister channel of India Today, found that over 100 samples have failed every year under the Chief Minister's Free Medicine Scheme in the last five years. In 2024 alone, 101 samples failed while 81 have already failed in 2025. The maximum number of sample failures were recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public concern
Over 900 drug samples failed since January 2019
Since January 2019, over 915 drug samples have failed quality tests, raising concerns about the integrity of the free medicine scheme and its oversight mechanisms. In Madhya Pradesh too, six children in Chhindwara district have died of kidney failure in the last 15 days. The deaths are suspected to be linked to contaminated cough syrup, district officials said on Tuesday. "The cough syrup administered to the children was allegedly contaminated with diethylene glycol (DEG)," Chhindwara district collector Sheelendra Singh said.