ગુજરાતી
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Young Women Have Ordered the Highest Quantity of Abortion Pills
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, May 20, 2026
The youth—both young men and women—of Gujarat are treading a path toward ruin by ordering narcotics and abortion pills online. 35,000 chemists have registered their protest against this trend. Drug abuse is on the rise as individuals order narcotics and codeine-based medicines for recreational purposes, often obtaining prescriptions from doctors generated through AI. To curb this, Jaswantbhai Patel, President of the Chemists’ Association, has demanded a ban on online medicine refills. In protest, 55,000 registered chemists and 35,000 pharmacies across Gujarat remained closed today.
Approximately 33–40% of India’s pharmaceutical production takes place in Gujarat. The state is home to approximately 5,800 licensed pharmaceutical manufacturing companies.
Today’s trade union-led shutdown involved over 3,000 pharmacies in Ahmedabad alone, and it is estimated that there are more than 35,000 medical stores across the entire state of Gujarat. Online Sales
Tata 1mg
PharmEasy
Netmeds
Apollo Pharmacy
Practo Health Pharma
Large and Medium-sized Licensed E-pharmacy Platforms in India: Approximately 40–60
Large National E-pharmacy Platforms in Gujarat: 10–15
Gujarat-based/Regional Online Medical Platforms: 15–30
Total Estimated Active Online Medicine Platforms: ~25–45
India in 2026 (Estimate): ₹35,000–38,000 Crore
Gujarat’s Share of the Indian Market (7% to 9%):
2024: ~₹1,900–2,300 Crore
2025: ~₹2,300–2,700 Crore
2026 (Estimate): ~₹2,700–3,200 Crore
Number of Medical Stores (Retail + Wholesale) / Pharmacies in Gujarat: There are approximately 55,776 licensed, registered drug-selling units.
During inspections conducted in 2024, approximately 53,000 drug retailers and wholesalers were inspected across Gujarat.
Drug Stores:
Ahmedabad: 6,200–6,800
Surat: 5,000–5,500
Vadodara: 3,300–3,800
Rajkot: 2,700–3,100
Banaskantha: 1,800–2,100
Mehsana: 1,500–1,800
1.69% of the medicines manufactured within Gujarat are of substandard quality. For medicines produced by companies located outside Gujarat, this figure is reported to be 4.62%.
The Gujarat FDCA collects approximately 15,000 drug samples annually, and about 2% of these fail quality tests.
Across India, 3% of medicines were found to be of substandard quality. Failure Rate Over 10 Years
Gujarat: Year-wise Drug Sample Testing and Failures
Year | Samples Tested | NSQ/Failed | Estimated Failure Rate
2011–12 | 5,800 samples collected | 463 failed | 8.0%
2012–13 | 6,800 samples collected | 381 failed | 5.6%
2013–14 | 9,800 samples collected | 567 failed | 5.8%
2014–15 | 11,300 samples collected | 516 failed | 4.6%
2015–16 | 7,500 samples collected | 365 failed | 4.9%
2016–17 | 11,000 samples collected | 535 failed | 4.8%
2017–18 | 13,600 samples collected | 395 failed | 2.9%
2019–20 | 13,300 samples | 220 failed | 1.7%
2022–23 | Out of 10,300 samples collected, 142 failed | 1.4%
2023–24 | Out of 14,400 samples collected, 349 failed | 2.4%
The FDCA Commissioner stated that the failure rate has declined significantly over the past decade.
According to information presented in the Legislative Assembly in 2019, samples from 65 out of 468 companies were found to be counterfeit or of substandard quality; of these, 34 were from Gujarat. District-wise Information:
Ahmedabad — 18 Companies
Mehsana — 4 Companies
Gandhinagar — 4 Companies
Vadodara — 3 Companies
During the period 2011–2016, 1,014 cases were resolved:
License Suspended: 910 cases
Product Permission Withdrawn: 14 cases
License Cancelled: 2 cases
Warning Issued: 83 cases
Other Joint Actions: 5 cases
Gujarat’s pharmaceutical sales are projected to reach ₹8,952 crore in 2023.
₹9,855 Crore
Annual Growth: 10.08%
Breakdown:
Ahmedabad Market: ₹1,820 Crore
Surat Market: ₹1,360 Crore
Vadodara Market: ₹790 Crore
Rajkot Market: ₹690 Crore
Gandhinagar — ₹340 Crore
Mehsana — ₹280 Crore
Bhavnagar — ₹265 Crore
Jamnagar — ₹245 Crore
Bharuch — ₹235 Crore
Kutch — ₹230 Crore
Market Share:
Ahmedabad: 25–30%
Surat: 15–20%
Vadodara: 10–15%
Rajkot: 8–10%
Remaining Districts: 30–40%
Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Manufacturers:
There are 279 pharmaceutical wholesalers and 667 companies in Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad is Gujarat’s largest pharmaceutical market.
Surat has 108 wholesale drug dealers and 257 pharmaceutical manufacturing companies; it constitutes Gujarat’s second-largest consumer market.
Vadodara has 110 wholesale drug dealers and 345 companies.
Rajkot has 85 wholesale drug dealers and 110 companies. Which serves as the principal market for Saurashtra.
Bhavnagar is home to 38 wholesale pharmaceutical dealers and 25 pharmaceutical companies.
Jamnagar has 29 wholesale pharmaceutical dealers and 11 companies.
Bharuch has 11 companies.
Medications by Disease Category
Heart Disease: 16% – Rs 1,575 Crore
Diabetes: 14% – Rs 1,380 Crore
Antibiotics: 18% – Rs 1,775 Crore
Painkillers: 13% – Rs 1,280 Crore
Respiratory Ailments: 8% – Rs 790 Crore
Cancer: 7% – Rs 690 Crore
Vitamins and Supplements: 9% – Rs 885 Crore
Skin Conditions: 5% – Rs 490 Crore
Neurology and Mental Health: 5% – Rs 490 Crore
Others: 5% – Rs 500 Crore (Google translation from Gujarati; please refer to the original report.)
