Drug safety enforcement in Nagpur district is operating with just two Drug Inspectors, despite 10 posts sanctioned for Nagpur District and 17 total for Division exposing a severe manpower gap in the machinery responsible for regulating medicines and pharmaceutical establishments. The State reportedly has just 35 Drug Inspectors serving currently. The shortage has been compounded by uncertainty surrounding the latest recruitment. The Drug Inspector examination held in March 2026 was followed by the exposure of a question-paper leak and an investigation. Recruitment of an additional 154 Group B Gazetted Drug Inspector posts in the State has been kept on hold because of the investigation, according to officials.

 

The shortage is not just confined to Nagpur. Bhandara and Chandrapur have one Drug Inspector each, while Wardha has none. In a further indication of the strain on the department, officials said Amravati Division has not a single Drug Inspector, with an Assistant Commissioner (Drug) having to undertake Drug Inspector-related duties.The manpower shortage is also reflected at the supervisory level. Seven Assistant Commissioner (Drug) posts are sanctioned in Nagpur Division, with two vacant, including vacancies in Wardha and Gadchiroli.

 

 

The situation is similarly challenging on the food safety side, particularly in rural Nagpur. The district has 10 Food Safety Officers (FSOs) for Nagpur city, deployed zone-wise, but only four for 13 rural talukas. Officials said some officers have to handle more than one taluka. The division has around 30 FSOs sanctioned apart from two vigilance officers. Wardha has three FSOs, Bhandara, Gadchiroli and Chandrapur have three each, while Gondia's strength has fallen from three to two following a vacancy. At the State level, FSO strength has improved following recruitment, rising from around 130 to 315 against 350 sanctioned posts. However, the improvement has not eliminated shortages at the district and taluka levels. The gap has been recognised at the policy level as well. The staffing demands have grown substantially since implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the rules and regulations introduced in 2011. The earlier system, under which municipal corporations had food inspectors and rural enforcement operated under the Prevention of Food Adulteration framework, has since evolved into a broader food safety regulatory regime.