Food and Drug Administration, Maharashtra State, the State's prime instrument for consumer protection, is a scientifically based law enforcement agency.

Initially, this Administration came into being as Directorate of Drugs Control which was meant for enforcing mainly the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules there under.

Later in the year 1970, Government entrusted the responsibility of enforcement of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, to this Directorate and then it was renamed “Food and Drug Administration “. The post of the Director of Drugs Control Administration was designated as the Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (M. S.) on 06.04.1970.

During this period, the Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration was the Licensing Authority for the grant of the drug manufacturing licences under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 for the entire State and Assistant Commissioners at Divisional places were Licensing Authorities for grant of the drug selling licenses under the said Act for the respective divisions.

In 1971, circle offices at places like Akola, Kolhapur, Nashik, were created and the Assistant Commissioners at these circle offices were declared as the Licensing Authorities to grant selling licenses under the Act, for the respective circles. During this period the district office was headed by a Drugs Inspector.

In the year 1975, there was considerable expansion of the Administration and posts of the Joint Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners were created at divisional places and district places respectively. the Joint Commissioner (H. Q.) was declared as the Licensing Authority for grant of manufacturing licenses under Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, for the entire State and the Joint Commissioners/ Assistant Commissioners were declared as the Licensing Authorities for grant of selling licenses under the said Rules, for their respective area .

From 1990, the divisional Joint Commissioners are declared as Licensing Authorities for grant of drug manufacturing licenses for their respective divisions. Thus, Maharashtra State is the only State where the work of Licensing pertaining to manufacturing licenses under Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, is decentralized at seven divisional levels places.

From 1996 FDA took the task to computerize the entire structure of the system. The drug sample coding and analysis reporting has been computerized.

In year June 2001 one more branch of Drug Control Laboratory was established at Aurangabad.