The ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) has notified listing of Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram airports, in Kerala, as places through where drugs can be imported by air under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.
The notification was published through the Gazette in the last week of May, after issuing a draft amendment on February 27, 2024, in consultation with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), and inviting objections and suggestions from any person within the period of thirty days.
In the final notification, the Ministry said that no objections and suggestions were received from the public in respect of the draft rules.
It added that the final amendment, named as Drugs (Third Amendment) Rules, 2024, shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
The two airports are added as the tenth and eleventh airports through which the drug imports are allowed as per the Rule 43A of the Drugs Rules, 1945.
As per the Rule 43A of the Drugs Rules, no drug shall be imported into India except through one of the places listed under the Rules. At present Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Goa, Bengaluru and Visakhapatnam are listed as places through which drugs can be imported by air into India.
"In the Drugs Rules, 1945, in Rule 43A, for the words 'Bengaluru and Visakhapatnam', words 'Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram' shall be substituted," says the amendment.
The Cochin International Airport, owned and operated by Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), is claimed as the first airport in the country built under Public Private Partnership. It is a unique entity established with equity participation from the Government of Kerala, Non Residential Indians, industrialists, financial Institutions and airport service providers, with around 18,000 shareholders from 29 countries. The Airport, started operations in the year 1999, has handled 61,231 international and domestic aircrafts and cargo of 72,818.20 MT during 2022-23.
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, established in 1932 as the first airport of the State, is claimed as the second busiest airport in Kerala and the fourteenth busiest in the country. It has international cargo comprising cold chain pharma, perishable and industrial products like machinery and brass items. The operations and management of the airport was taken over by the Adani Group in October, 2021, after it won the bidding process conducted by the Ministry of Aviation.
It may also be noted that the Thiruvananthapuram Airport is close to the upcoming Vizhinjam International Transhipment Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport, primarily built to cater container transhipment, multi-purpose and break bulk cargo owned by the State government and built on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis by the private partner Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Ltd. In October, 2023, the State government held the inaugural docking of the first vessel that arrived at the port. The port is expected to be operational by the end of 2024, according to reports.
It may be noted that in June, 2023, the Ministry has issued final notification allowing import of drugs into India through Gangavaram Port at Visakhapatnam, in Andhra Pradesh, an all-weather deep-water port owned by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ).
In respect of drugs imported by sea into India, the ports in Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Kochi, Nava Sheva, Kandla, Inland Container Depots at Tughlakabad and Patparganj in Delhi, Tuticorin and Kamarajar Ports in Tamil Nadu, Marmugao port in Goa, Visakhapatnam and Krishnapatnam port in Andhra Pradesh and Haziia port and Inland Container Depot Khohdiyar, Gandhinagar and Mundra Port in Gujarat, and Inland Container Depot at Dhannad and Tihi, Indore, in Madhya Pradesh are listed in the Rule 43A of the Drugs Rules.
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