New Delhi, Mar 28 (IANS): In a major development, the Central government has suspended the licence of 18 pharma companies in the country over the poor quality of drugs.

A top official source on Tuesday said that the Drug Controller General of India had inspected 76 companies and the licence of 18 have been suspended, while 26 have been served show cause notice over poor quality of drugs.

The Centre has also cancelled the product permission of three pharma companies.

In a joint operation by Centre and the states, the action was taken against pharma companies across 20 states. The special drive had been initiated to stop the production of 'Not of Standard Quality' medicine and to ensure Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) of medicine across the country, said the source.

The source said that the DCGI's action was taken from last 15 days in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Hariyana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.

The source said that the special drive will continue to stop the production of substandard medicines in the country.