Medicines sold in India to have mandatory bar codes starting from August 1 next year

New Delhi: India’s health ministry has added schedule H2 to make barcodes on the medicines sold within the country mandatory. The move, the government says will ensure authenticity and traceability through the manufacturing and supply chain.

The move will come into effect from August 1, 2023, and will be labeled as Aadhar card of medicines.

According to reports, a unique QR code will carry all the information of medicines including:

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

Media reports say that the initiative will be promoted at chemist outlets across the country, in a bid to spread awareness about the scheme.

Top-selling medicines like Allegra, Dolo, Augmentin, Saridon, Calpol, and Thyronorm are among 300 brands that will roll out new packs with barcodes in the market.