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The national digital platform e-RaktKosh, run by the National Informatics Centre, will now be used for monitoring the availability of blood in the country
The order marks a shift from voluntary to mandatory compliance with the national blood tracking platform. Representational image
All licensed blood centres in India must now register on the government’s e-RaktKosh portal—and failing to do so could cost them during regulatory inspections, the country’s drug regulator has warned in a letter that signals a significant tightening of oversight over the country’s blood supply chain, News18 learnt.
The country’s apex drug regulatory body, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), on March 18 issued a directive—months after a Ministry of Health meeting flagged weak oversight of the country’s blood supply chain. The order marks a shift from voluntary to mandatory compliance with the national blood tracking platform.
“…advised for registration of all licensed blood centres on the e-RaktKosh platform to enter the date regarding blood stock availability and update on daily basis, along with the data related to blood donors, monthly reports, etc., and it will benefit existing blood centres in long run by increasing the number of available voluntary blood donors,” said the letter sent to states and union territories, seen by News18.
Why This, Why Now?
For years, the government has had limited real-time information about how much blood—and which components—are available at any given centre on any given day. e-RaktKosh, a national digital platform run by the National Informatics Centre, will now be used for monitoring the availability of blood in the country.
CDSCO had issued an advisory as far back as June 2022, asking blood centres to register and update stock data on a daily basis, noting the platform would benefit centres “in long run by increasing the number of available voluntary blood donors”. But compliance remained voluntary and incomplete.
The order this month follows directions from the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, conveyed during a meeting held on March 11, regarding “strengthening regulatory oversight of blood centres through mandatory registration on the e-RaktKosh portal to facilitate transparency, traceability, and national-level monitoring of blood and blood components”.
Registration and active use of the portal “shall be ensured through regulatory oversight by CDSCO zonal and sub-zonal offices and state licensing authorities,” the letter said—meaning blood centres that remain off the platform risk failing their next regulatory inspection.
Verification of e-RaktKosh registration will now be formally embedded into the official inspection checklist for blood centres. Inspectors visiting a facility will check not just whether it has registered, but whether the registration is active and accurate—whether blood stock data is being regularly updated, whether physical inventory matches what the portal reflects, whether designated staff are managing data entry, and whether “donor traceability is maintained through linkage with ABHA ID, or Aadhaar, or other approved unique identifiers, wherever applicable.”
Also, state licensing authorities have been directed to instruct all blood centres under their jurisdiction to complete registration “wherever not done” and to “ensure regular updating of blood stock and component availability on the portal.”
They have also been given 30 days to submit a status report detailing the total number of licensed blood centres in their state, how many are on e-RaktKosh, and how many are yet to register.
The regulator’s stated aim is to “strengthen the national blood transfusion system and improve transparency and accessibility of blood availability across the country”.
March 25, 2026, 07:00 IST
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