The government has constituted a high-level committee to put in place regulatory and legislative measures to check online pharmacies trading in banned drugs. The committee under the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will firm up country's action against the illegal online trade. This is a part of the new drugs policy unveiled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday. The committee will also consider establishing cyber patrol units to intercept syndicates and individuals indulging in such criminal activities over the Internet.

The NCB Director led committee, set up to look into the whole gamut of issues pertaining to Internet pharmacies, will recommend to put in place regulatory, administrative and legislative measures to control Internet pharmacies and seek active cooperation of Internet service providers in this regard. NCB is the national enforcement agency to take penal action against drug traffickers under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) and the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking-NDPS (PIT-NDPS).

The government has framed a number of guidelines for the committee after approving the recommendations made by global anti-narcotics body, International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), in this regard in 2010.