Govt may bring surgical gloves under quality control order

The government is likely to bring surgical gloves and single-use medical examination gloves under the Quality Control Order (QCO) to check imports of poor-quality products and ensure better standards for those manufactured in the country.

The move is in line with demands raised by domestic glove makers who said the lack of proper regulation is resulting in import of substandard gloves, rejected in other countries, to India.

The issue of bringing these gloves under QCO-raised by Indian Rubber Gloves Manufacturers Association -was discussed at a meeting held by the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) last week. The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) is considering the issuance of QCO in consultation with the Bureau of Indian Standards and has invited comments, according to the minutes of the meeting.

ET has seen the minutes.
In a bid to resolve this issue that is posing a health hazard for doctors, medical staff and patients, and to save the domestic industry from unfair trade practices, the DoCA pressed upon the need to issue QCA. Glove makers said poor-quality bulk-packed items from countries like Thailand, Malaysia and China are being dumped in India under different non-medical HSN codes and are then repacked for medical usage here.

"Earlier, India's drug regulatory authority had mandated that medical examination gloves meet requirements of quality standards. However, it did not notify the BIS labs in its list of quality labs," a person in the know told ET.