Telangana brings food safety, drugs control under administrative roof of ‘TG SAFE’
The government has appointed 2005-batch IPS officer Avinash Mohanty, who was serving as Director General of the DCA, as Commissioner of TG SAFE, in addition to his existing duties.
The Telangana government has merged the Food Safety Department and the Drugs Control Administration (DCA) into a single administrative entity known as the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE). This move, overseen by Health Secretary Christina Z. Chongthu, aims to strengthen compliance and enforcement under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
Avinash Mohanty, a 2005-batch IPS officer, has been appointed as the Commissioner of TG SAFE, alongside his existing roles. The merger is driven by the need to address the increasing number of licensed food business operators in the state and to enhance public health, consumer safety, quality assurance, and regulatory outcomes. TG SAFE will operate through six wings, including Drug Administration, Food Safety, Enforcement, Legal and Prosecution, Laboratory, and Administration.
The unified system will initially be implemented in the CURE region, which has a high concentration of food business operators and drug establishments. The government has also formed a State-level committee to review the modernization of the Food Safety and Drugs Control administration, with recommendations to guide the final decision on establishing a unified Food and Drug Department across Telangana.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Hindu's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
