Nearly thirty-five pharmaceutical companies in India have contributed Rs 1,000 crore to political parties through electoral bonds, as revealed by Election Commission data. Of particular concern is the revelation that at least seven of these companies were under investigation for producing substandard drugs at the time of their bond purchases.Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital emerged as the primary purchaser in the healthcare and pharma bond market, acquiring 162 bonds valued at ₹1 crore each, totaling ₹162 crore.Following closely behind was Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, purchasing 80 bonds also valued at ₹1 crore each, totaling ₹80 crores, as reported by CNBC TV18.IT and ED raids: Interestingly, Yashoda Hospital faced scrutiny from the Income Tax Department in December 2020, while Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories encountered tax-related actions in November 2023. Specifically, Dr. K Nagender Reddy of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories was targeted over allegations of tax evasion.In the latest report compiled by a joint effort of Newslaundry, Scroll, and The News Minute, it was revealed that the Hyderabad-based Hetero Labs and Hetero Healthcare purchased electoral bonds totalling Rs 39 crore in April 2022.In the next 10 months, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration issued six notices issued to the Hyderabad-based company for substandard drugs. At least three of them pertained to Remdesivir, an antiviral drug widely used to treat COVID-19. However the Telangana regulator did not act against Hetero.In addition to the Rs 39 crore bonds Herero bought in 2022, the pharma company also purchased bonds worth Rs 10 crore in July 2023 and Rs 11 crore in October 2023, a total of bonds worth Rs 60 crore.
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