Maharashtra FDA Tightens Blood Centre Rules and Shuts IIT Bombay Messes

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration issued a new compliance order for all licensed blood centres in the state. The directive mandates that every centre hold a valid licence, maintain required infrastructure and trained staff, and test each donation for HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis and malaria. It also imposes stricter cold‑chain storage standards and requires daily updates of blood stock on the e‑RaktKosh online platform.

In a separate action, the FDA ordered two hostel mess facilities at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay to cease operations after inspectors found they lacked the necessary permissions and registrations. The agency’s broader food‑safety drive inspected 63 restaurants in early August, suspending licences of several eateries and issuing improvement notices to many others.