- Delhi High Court flagged rampant use of Oxytocin hormone in the dairy colonies of Delhi
- It directed the Department of Drugs Control, GNCTD, to take action under section 18(a) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
- Only one public sector undertaking, the Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Limited (KAPL) is permitted to produce Oxytocin to meet the needs of the entire country.
- Oxytocin is also known as the ‘love hormone’.
- It is secreted by the pituitary glands of mammals during sex, childbirth, lactation or social bonding.
- It is chemically manufactured and administered either as an injection or a nasal solution to use in childbirth.
- Oxytocin is administered to cattle to “force milk let-down and increase the production of milk”.
- Administering of Oxytocin amounts to animal cruelty, and is a cognisable offence under Section 12 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
Dig Deeper: Learn about various important hormones like testosterone and oestrogen
