The government, which has banned the import of oxytocin formulations and restricted its manufacture to the public sector only from July 1, on June 27 said state-run Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (KAPL) will produce it for domestic use.

"The oxytocin formulations meant for domestic consumption will be supplied by the manufacturer, i.e. KAPL, to the registered hospitals and clinics in public and private sector directly," the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement. "All the registered hospitals and clinics in public and private sector in the country are advised to contact KAPL and place their orders with the company as the drug will not be available with retail chemists or any other manufacturer," it added.

The decision taken under Section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 is aimed to check misuse of oxytocin, a reproductive hormone found in mammals that increases the contraction of the uterus during labour and stimulates ejection of milk into the ducts of the breasts. The hormone, sometimes referred to as the 'love hormone', was being widely misused across the country to make vegetables look fresher and bigger, and to make cattle produce more milk thereby harming both humans and animals.

The ministry, in an earlier statement in April, said the manufacture of oxytocin formulations for export purposes can be done by both public and private sector provided all the products carried barcodes. The manufacturers of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), the part of the drug that produces its effect, of oxytocin will supply the API only to the public sector manufacturers in case of domestic use but also to private sector in case of export purpose, the ministry had said.