Srinagar, Jun 16: Strengthening vigil of pharmaceutical sales and curb misuse of drugs, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday amended the Drugs (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2026, removing the word “Syrups” from Schedule K of the Drugs Rules, 1945. This effectively ends the over-the-counter (OTC) availability of all syrup-based medications, including common cough syrups. A series of incidents involving contaminated cough syrups containing toxic chemicals such as diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol has been noted in India over the past.