Bar Codes now mandatory for Medicines sold in India

The top 300 medicine formulations, including Calpol, Allegra, Betadine, Ointment, Gelusil, and Dolo 650, will be required under the new Drugs Rules, or the Drugs (Eighth Amendment) Rules 2022, to incorporate a QR code or Bar Code on the packaging label. These Bar Codes will make it easier to determine whether the delivered drugs are real or fake.

From August 1, 2023, Bar Codes will be Mandatory for Medicines sold in India

The new rules will come into force on August 1, 2023, a notification issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated.

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Drugs and Cosmetic Rules , 1945 amended and Government announced Drugs (Eight Amendment) Rules 2022 on November 17

The Notification states “ The manufacturers of drug formulation products as specified in schedule H2 shall print or affix Bar Code or Quick response Code on its primary packaging label or, in case of inadequate space in primary package label , on the secondary package label that store data of information legible with a software application to facilitate authentication”.

It will curb the menace of spurious medicines

Below information of medicines will be carried out in QR Code:

• Product identification code
• Proper and generic name of the drug
• Brand Name
• Name and Address of the manufacturer
• Batch Number
• Date of Manufacture
• Expiry Date
• Manufacturing license number

Manufacturing License and Batch Number can be accessed upon scanning

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The initiative to curb the sale of spurious, substandard, or counterfeit medicines is already in place in a number of countries, including Russia, Britain, Germany, and the United States.

In the first phase . 300 drugs from top pharma brands having around 35 percent of the total market share will be brought under this ambit and by December next year , all drugs will be covered

The landmark move will be promoted at chemists outlets across India , in a bid to spread awareness about the scheme.

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