The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday evening served a notice on Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved Limited over its claim to have developed a Covid-19 cure, hours after the Centre asked the company to stop advertising or touting remedies for the coronavirus disease.

The state government’s notice asks the Haridwar-based company to explain its conduct, saying it had never been given a licence to manufacture a medicine for Covid-19.

“Patanjali has licences to make medicines to boost immunity or cure fever and cough. It never acquired a licence to make a medicine for the coronavirus. We have served a notice on the firm,” the joint director of the state medicinal licensing authority, Y.S. Rawat, told reporters on Wednesday.

However, Balkrishna, Patanjali managing director, said: “Our medicine and our claim are completely valid. The ayush department had sought some information, which we have provided to them.”

On Tuesday, the Union ministry for ayurveda, yoga, unani, siddha and homoeopathy (ayush) had said it had asked Patanjali for details of its Covid-19 medicine and any studies on it, underlining that all ayush research on the virus must comply with mandatory conditions.

Balkrishna also tweeted in Hindi: “This government is for the promotion and pride of ayurveda. There was some communication gap, which was clarified. The standard parameters of all randomised placebo controlled clinical trials were fulfilled 100 per cent and the ayush ministry was informed about it.”

The Centre’s rap had come hours after Patanjali held a media conference in Haridwar at 1pm on Tuesday to claim it had developed a herbal cocktail that cures Covid-19.

It later issued a statement saying: “Patanjali is the first to make the much awaited medicine for corona, a global epidemic. Pujya Swami Ramdev ji Maharaj has said on this occasion that hundreds of scientists of Patanjali Research Institute have worked effortlessly, first on clinical case studies and later on controlled clinical trials while following all the protocols of drug discovery to find a complete ayurvedic medicine for corona: Coronil and Swasari Vati.”

The Coronil and Swasari pills — to be taken together — are available in a small carton containing three cases, named the Divya Corona Kit and priced at Rs 545. A label on the carton says: “Tested & verified medicine from Patanjali Research Institute.”

The medicine has to be taken for a month, the company says.

A source in the Uttarakhand health department said late on Wednesday afternoon that the company was yet to reply to the notice.