Where the term comes from
Section 16 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 defines "standard quality" for a drug as compliance with the standards set out in the Second Schedule, in practice the Indian Pharmacopoeia, or the pharmacopoeia cited on the label, or the specification approved with the product's licence. A sample that fails any of those tests when analysed by a Government Analyst is reported as "Not of Standard Quality". Drug inspectors draw samples from manufacturers, distributors, retail pharmacies and hospitals; central samples go to the Central Drugs Laboratory in Kolkata or one of CDSCO's regional labs, state samples to the state drug-testing laboratory.
What the tests are
The most common failures on the register are assay (the amount of active ingredient is outside the permitted range, usually 90 to 110 per cent of the label claim), dissolution (a tablet or capsule does not release its drug fast enough in a standard bath), description (colour, shape or markings do not match), pH and particulate matter (for injectables and liquids), sterility and bacterial endotoxins (injectables), disintegration, uniformity of weight, related substances (degradation products) and water content. Labelling and misbranding failures also appear.
How CDSCO publishes it
Since 2019 CDSCO has released a monthly alert listing every batch reported NSQ by central laboratories, and since 2025 the alert also aggregates state-laboratory results on the CDSCO portal. Each row records the product name as printed, the batch number, manufacturing and expiry dates, the manufacturer's name and address, the test failed and the reporting laboratory. This site republishes each month as a searchable table within a day of release and links every row to a manufacturer and product record.
What NSQ is not
An NSQ result is not a ban. It applies to one batch, which the state licensing authority will order recalled from the market. The same brand from a different batch is unaffected unless it is separately tested and fails. NSQ is also not the same as spurious: a spurious sample is one that is not what it claims to be, often a counterfeit carrying a genuine company's name, and CDSCO lists those separately with the labelled company's response. Several large companies have stated that batches listed under their name were counterfeits they never made; those statements are reproduced on the relevant record pages.
What to do if your batch is listed
Stop using that batch and return it to the pharmacy, which is obliged to withdraw recalled stock and can arrange a replacement. Do not stop a prescribed course without speaking to your doctor or pharmacist, who can dispense the same medicine from an unaffected batch. If you have already taken doses from a listed batch, the practical risk depends on the test that failed, a dissolution failure usually means reduced effect rather than harm, and your doctor is the right person to advise.