Is Zinetac banned in India?

Zinetac was GSK's ranitidine brand and, for many years, the most familiar acidity tablet in India. It is not banned, but it is the one ranitidine brand that actually went away, which explains why the question persists.

When the NDMA problem with ranitidine surfaced in September 2019, GSK announced that it would suspend supply of Zinetac in India and recall stock as a precaution, ahead of any regulatory finding. The exact terms and dates of that action, and whether the brand has since returned in any form, are flagged for verification; our sources on the ranitidine story do not settle them. The point for readers is that the withdrawal was a company decision, not a Section 26A notification.

The molecule remains legal. India's regulator ordered testing rather than a withdrawal; the Central Drugs Laboratory found NDMA above the threshold in about half the samples tested; the drug was removed from the National List of Essential Medicines in 2022; and in April 2025 the Drugs Technical Advisory Board deferred a decision on a ban pending a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research. Other brands such as Rantac and Aciloc are licensed and on sale.

Someone who used Zinetac and now cannot find it has two choices: another ranitidine brand, or a different acid reducer such as famotidine or a proton-pump inhibitor. A doctor or pharmacist can advise which suits, and the NDMA question is a reasonable one to raise.