India, April 8 -- Over the past three years, 1683 drugs failed quality tests, the health minister of Himachal Pradesh said in a reply to two members of the state legislative assembly in February.

Experts say the disclosure highlights the need for a more effective drug recall mechanism across the country. Ideally, they add, the government should have followed up with a nationwide recall of each of the 1683 drugs that failed the quality tests.

In 2017, India's drugs regulator came up with guidelines on recalls. Last year, the Union health ministry notified changes in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, that required pharmaceutical companies to mandatorily follow good manufacturing practices (GMP) . However, there is no drug recall law in...