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Mahesh

23/07/22 07:33 AM IST

Opium opened for private players

In News 
  • The central government has for the first time allowed a private company, Bajaj Healthcare, to process opium to extract alkaloids used to make pain-killers, cough syrups, and even cancer drugs.
Background 
  • India has been growing poppy at least since the 15th century. The British East India Company assumed a monopoly on the cultivation of poppy, and the entire trade was brought under government control by 1873.

Regulation 
  • At present, the cultivation and processing of poppy and opium are controlled by the provisions of The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and Rules.
  • Due to fear of illegal cropping, Opium is allowed to be sown only in tracts of land notified by the central government in 22 districts in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
  • The government announces the licensing policy for opium cultivation every year
  • This entire quantity is bought by the government and processed in its own factories (in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur and Madhya Pradesh’s Neemuch. )
  • Only 12 countries including India allow its cultivation legally for medicinal use.
Source- Business Standard 

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