Brand check
Is Telma-H banned in India?
Last checked 19 September 2026. A few details are still being checked against the original document.
Telma-H is not banned in India as of 19 Sep 2026; the brand has been counterfeited, by a Baddi unit caught in September 2022 and in a spurious batch flagged in CDSCO's February 2025 alert, but its licence is unaffected.
- Classification
- No ban or recall found in official records
- Decided by
- CDSCO / Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
- Reference
- No Section 26A notification; CDSCO monthly drug alerts 2025 to 2026 (spurious batches under the Telma label)
- Latest action
- 21 January 2026
- Last checked
- 19 September 2026details being verified
Telmisartan 80 mg tablets in a blister pack. Photo: Telmisartan-ratiopharm 80 mg tbl.jpg by Tomino de WS (CC BY-SA 4.0). Brand names and logos belong to their owners and are used here to identify the product this entry is about. All photo credits.
Medical Dialogues: CDSCO flags 5 batches of widely used drugs including Azithral 500, Telma-AM as potentially spurious
We have not yet found this action in a published government document. Treat it as reported, not confirmed. If you have the order, send it to us.
Scope. A record here does not by itself mean a product or company is unsafe or banned today. Regulatory actions can apply to one batch, one formulation, one period or one state. Always check the linked government document for the current position, and tell us if something is out of date. How we label records.
Below: Blacklisted's explanationWe explain what has been reported. The report above is the best source we hold.
Key facts
- Governing authority
- CDSCO, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
- Ban notification
- None; telmisartan is an essential medicine
- Composition
- Telmisartan 40 mg + hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg
- Manufacturer
- Glenmark Pharmaceuticals
- Sep 2022
- Baddi unit caught manufacturing fake Telma-H under Glenmark's label
- Feb 2025 alert
- Spurious Telma-H batch flagged (reported 30 Mar 2025); Glenmark denied manufacture
Where the claim comes from
Telma is the most counterfeited prescription brand in India. Between September 2022 and January 2026 CDSCO alerts and state raids named fake Telma-H, Telma 40 and Telma-AM at least six times, each time with Glenmark stating that it had not made the batch. Every such headline reads, to a patient, like 'Telma banned'.
Telma-H is telmisartan with the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide, one of the most common combinations for blood pressure that a single drug does not control. It is Glenmark's product and it is not banned.
Telma-H is where the Telma counterfeiting story began. In September 2022 drug inspectors in Himachal Pradesh raided a unit in Baddi, the state's pharmaceutical hub, and found it manufacturing fake Telma-H under Glenmark's label. The Tribune reported the case. In March 2025 the CDSCO's alert for February samples flagged a spurious Telma-H batch among 103 other drugs that failed tests; Glenmark stated that it had not manufactured it. Subsequent alerts in 2025 and January 2026 named Telma 40 and Telma-AM rather than Telma-H, which suggests the counterfeiters follow the brand family rather than one product.
None of this involves a regulatory action against telmisartan + hydrochlorothiazide, which has never been named in a Section 26A notification. The finding "spurious" in a CDSCO alert means the sample was not what its label said; the company's statement that it did not make the batch is the same fact from the other side.
Patients on Telma-H should keep taking it on their doctor's advice, buy from a licensed pharmacy with a bill, and compare the batch number on the strip with the alerts. A fake tablet may contain no telmisartan at all, which is a reason to check, not a reason to stop.
What this means for you
Do not stop a blood-pressure medicine
Nothing about the licence has changed. An unplanned gap in treatment is the real danger; consult your doctor before any change.
Read the two statements side by side
CDSCO's finding is batch-specific. The company says the batch was not made by it, i.e. counterfeit. Both can be true: someone else made a fake pack with the brand's name.
Buy with a bill from a licensed pharmacy and check the batch
Counterfeit Telma has been found in several states; a genuine-looking strip is not proof. Compare the batch with the alerts.
This is a record of official orders, not medical advice. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.
Batches flagged in CDSCO alerts
Products whose name matches this brand or molecule in CDSCO monthly NSQ alerts. A flagged batch is a single batch; the company's response, where reported, is noted on the page above.
| Product | Batch | Manufacturer | Reason declared NSQ | Tested by | Alert |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telma H (Telmisartan 40 mg and Hydrochlorot hiazide 12.5mg Tablets IP) | 18230080Mfg 2023-02 · Exp 2026-01 | Glenmark Pharmaceuticals LtdHimachal Pradesh | Dissolution & Assay of TelmisartanAssay | Not applicableCDSCO lab | Aug 2024 |
| Telmisartan 40 mg and Hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg Tablets IP (TELMA H TABLETS) | 20DDT-035Mfg 2020-12 · Exp 2023-11 | Dallas Drugs Pvt. LtdHimachal Pradesh | Assay of TelmisartanAssay | RDTL ChandigarhState lab | Mar 2022 |
| Telmisartan 40 mg and Hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg Tablets IP (TELMA H TABLETS) | 18200994Mfg 2020-10 · Exp 2023-09 | Glenmark Pharmaceuticals LtdSikkim | Assay of TelmisartanAssay | RDTL ChandigarhState lab | Feb 2022 |
Official sources and primary records
- Medical Dialogues: CDSCO flags 5 batches of widely used drugs including Azithral 500, Telma-AM as potentially spuriousNewsMedical Dialogues
- Business Standard: CDSCO flags 7 drugs as spurious, 167 fail quality tests in Dec 2025NewsBusiness Standard · 21 January 2026
- Business Standard: Spurious batch of Telma-H flagged, 103 other drugs fail CDSCO testsNewsBusiness Standard · 30 March 2025
- Business Standard: CDSCO flags spurious batch of Telma, 131 other drugs fail quality testsNewsBusiness Standard · 18 April 2025
- News
- Outlook Business: Linking spurious drugs with legitimate manufacturers has severe reputational, financial impact. IPANewsOutlook Business