The Union government has banned imports of the hormone oxytocin to stop its misuse in the livestock industry, where activists say it causes hormonal imbalances and shortens the lives of milch animals.
The government has decided to rely on domestic production to satisfy requirements of the hormone.
Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) in February 2018 had recommended import ban of oxytocin.
It also recommended that sale be limited to registered government hospitals and clinics, a bar code system used on all forms of the drug to ensure tracking and prevent abuse.
The drug is used by diary owners and farmers to boost milk production and make vegetables look bigger and fresher.
But, it was found that indiscriminate use of Oxytocin in milch animals and by farmers was causing irreversible hormone damage.
Oxytocin
Oxytocin has also been dubbed the hug hormone, cuddle chemical, moral molecule, and the bliss hormone due to its effects on behaviour, including its role in love and in female reproductive biological functions in reproduction.
It acts both as a hormone and as a brain neurotransmitter.