Telangana Launches TG-SAFE to Unify Food Safety and Drug Control

HYDERABAD — Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday announced the launch of the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG-SAFE), a unified body established to oversee food and drug safety across the state.

According to the Chief Minister, the creation of TG-SAFE reflects the state government's commitment to ensuring safety, security, and the overall well-being of citizens in every aspect of life. The initiative merges the state's Food Safety Department and Drugs Control Department under a single administrative structure to streamline regulatory oversight.

In a post on social media platform X, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy noted that TG-SAFE comes into force as a single department tasked with ensuring standards in food and medicines, inviting citizens to welcome and utilise its services for a safer Telangana.

The restructuring follows a Government Order issued recently by the state administration. The order outlined that both the Food Safety Department and the Drugs Control Department share common objectives relating to public health, consumer safety, quality assurance, and effective regulatory enforcement.

State officials determined that a unified administrative framework was essential to improve surveillance, intelligence gathering, enforcement operations, legal support, and broader regulatory outcomes across the state. Under the new setup, the combined administration will operate directly as TG-SAFE.

The government specified that the unified administrative framework will continue to uphold and preserve the statutory provisions established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, as well as the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

Senior IPS officer Avinash Mohanty, who previously served as the Director General of the Drugs Control Administration, has been appointed as the Commissioner of Telangana SAFE. He will oversee the unified administrative control of both the Food Safety and Drug Control departments in addition to his regular duties.