New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Tuesday said India has “zero tolerance on spurious medicine” after the World Health Organization (WHO) issued fresh warning against Indian-origin syrups.

“Zero tolerance on spurious medicines and extensive risk-based analysis being done to ensure the quality of medicines,” Mandaviya said.

The Health Minister asserted that India will never bargain on quality of medicines and always alert to ensure no one dies of spurious drugs.

Union minister Mandaviya informed that 71 companies have been issued show-cause notices, while 18 of them have been asked to shut shop. The action was taken after concerns raised in some quarters about reported deaths due to contaminated India-made cough syrups.

“We need to get into facts whenever some questions are raised about Indian medicines. For example in Gambia, it was said that 49 children have died. Someone at WHO had said it and we wrote to them asking what the facts are. No one got back to us with the facts,” told the minister to a media agency.

There have a number of cases where Indian medicine was reported to be alleged cause behind deteriorating health of masses. In February this year, Tamil Nadu-based Global Pharma Healthcare recalled its eye-drop.

Prior to that, 66 deaths were reported including 18 children in Gambia and Uzbekistan, respectively, last year.