Govt notifies Navi Mumbai Airport as port for import of drugs

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has enabled the import of drugs through the recently inaugurated Navi Mumbai Airport in Maharashtra.

• The amendment to Rule 43A of the Drugs Rules, 1945 now includes Navi Mumbai in the list of airports through which drugs may be imported into the country. The notification has been issued after consultation with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. 

• With this amendment, Navi Mumbai Airport joins the list of designated airports permitted for the import of drugs under the Drugs Rules, 1945. 

• The total number of notified ports of entry — across air, sea, road and rail — for the import of drugs has increased to 42.

• The amendment is expected to facilitate smoother movement of pharmaceutical consignments, strengthen logistics infrastructure, and provide greater flexibility to importers by adding a new alternative for import of medicines into India.

• The initiative is in line with the government’s continued efforts to strengthen the regulatory framework, improve trade facilitation, and promote Ease of Doing Business while ensuring effective regulatory oversight of imported drugs.

• Navi Mumbai International Airport was inaugurated in October 2025.

• It is one of India’s largest greenfield airport projects, developed under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). 

• It is constructed and operated by Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL).

• As the second international airport for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, NMIA will work in tandem with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to ease congestion and elevate Mumbai into the league of global multi-airport systems.