The Centre has expanded the mandatory use of QR codes to cover vaccines, antimicrobials, anti-cancer medicines, and narcotic and psychotropic drugs, bringing additional categories of life-saving medicines under a track-and-trace framework. According to reports from Business Standard, this expansion goes beyond the top 300 pharmaceutical brands to improve authenticity and supply-chain transparency. The latest notification aims to create a globally interoperable identification system across the pharmaceutical supply chain. As per GS1 India, the expanded QR-code regime will strengthen the authenticity and traceability of medicines by creating a globally interoperable identification system across the pharmaceutical supply chain.
Government data shows significant improvements in pharmaceutical surveillance over recent years. As reported by Business Standard, drug samples tested by regulators increased from 84,874 in 2020-21 to 116,323 in 2024-25. During the same period, annual Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) detections remained around the 3,000-mark, while spurious drugs detected declined to 245 in 2024-25 from 424 in 2022-23. Prosecutions initiated by regulators rose sharply to 961 in 2024-25 from 236 in 2020-21. According to GS1 India, the country's barcode and supply chain standards body, the expanded QR code regime will strengthen the authenticity and traceability of medicines by creating a globally interoperable identification system across the pharmaceutical supply chain.
According to GS1 India, the expanded QR-code regime is expected to strengthen medicine authenticity and traceability by creating a globally interoperable identification system. As reported by Business Standard, S Swaminathan, chief executive officer of GS1 India, welcomed the Union Health Ministry's decision, emphasizing that medicines are traded globally and India cannot afford systems working in silos. The expansion would improve traceability by linking barcodes with accurate product information in a registry, allowing digital medicine identity verification when scanned. "GS1 India welcomes the Union Health Ministry's decision to expand the QR code and barcode mandate to additional categories of life-saving medicines. This is a very important move because medicines are traded globally, and India cannot afford systems working in silos. By adopting internationally harmonised GS1 standards, the regulation ensures that product, batch and expiry information is encoded in a universal way," said Swaminathan. The regulation ensures that product, batch and expiry information is encoded in a universal way, building trust, reducing counterfeits, and aligning India with global pharmaceutical standards.
While QR codes address medicine authenticity, some industry participants argue that reducing NSQ drugs requires greater focus on manufacturing processes. According to Business Standard, Shashwat S Tripathi of EurVeda.co, an AI-focused platform to improve pharmaceutical manufacturing, argues that AI can help manufacturers predict process deviations during production by analyzing parameters such as blending time, environmental conditions and equipment performance. The industry expert suggests moving from reactive quality models based on end-product testing toward predictive manufacturing approaches that identify potential deviations during production. Tripathi argued that AI can enhance existing good manufacturing practices by supporting process validation, environmental monitoring and root-cause analysis, urging the industry to shift from reactive end-product testing to predictive manufacturing where potential flaws are caught during production rather than after a batch is complete.
As reported by Business Standard, experts suggest the two technologies address different parts of India's pharmaceutical quality ecosystem. While QR codes are designed to improve traceability and authenticity as medicines move through the supply chain, AI-based manufacturing tools are positioned as a way to reduce quality failures within factories themselves. The dual approach aims to create a more transparent and trustworthy medicine supply chain while aligning India with globally accepted standards. According to industry experts, the two technologies address different parts of India's pharmaceutical quality ecosystem, with QR codes securing the authenticity of medicines moving through the supply chain while AI-based manufacturing reduces quality failures before products leave the factory.
