New Delhi, Aug 4 (PTI) The government on Friday extended the date for implementation of the track and trace system for exports of drug formulations till February next year.

The decision applies to both non-SSI (Small Scale Industry) and SSI-manufactured drugs.

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"The date for implementation of track and trace system for exports of drug formulations with respect to maintaining the parent-child relationship in packaging levels and its uploading on central portal has been extended up to February 1, 2024 for both SSI and non-SSI manufactured drugs," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a public notice.

Earlier also, the dates have been extended from time to time.

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The manufacturer or the exporter of drug formulations would have to print the barcode as per global standards at different packaging levels -- primary, secondary and tertiary -- to facilitate tracking and tracing of their products.

Barcode helps in tracking and tracing the origin of drugs, which minimises the chances of genuine medicines being considered spurious, sub-standard or counterfeit.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)