In a significant step toward easing the regulatory burden on India's retail pharmacy sector, the Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC) at its 68th meeting on 20 March 2026 directed a sub-committee to examine four landmark deregulation proposals. The sub-committee's findings will be placed before the DCC for final deliberation before any rule amendments are made.
The proposals, originating from the High Level Committee (HLC) on Non-Financial Regulatory Reforms and tracked through NITI Aayog's HLC-Sameeksha portal, aim to modernise pharmacy licensing norms that have remained largely unchanged for decades.
The proposed reforms draw from global best practices and seek to shift pharmacy regulation from a compliance-heavy, paperwork-driven model to one rooted in performance and outcomes.
Performance based premises standards
The proposal calls for replacing existing rigid, numeric requirements for pharmacy premises such as mandated square footage and fixed shelf counts with flexible, performance-based standards aligned with global regulatory practice. This change is expected to reduce barriers to entry, particularly for smaller pharmacy operators and those in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
Remove pharmacist name from license
Currently, the name of the competent person in-charge must appear on the pharmacy licence itself. DCC suggested removing the requirement to include the name of the competent person in- charge on the pharmacy licence.
15-day notification window for qualified person in-charge
Rather than requiring prior approval from the Licensing Authority before appointing a qualified person in-charge, applicants would be allowed to notify the authority within 15 days of commencing operations. Any subsequent changes to the appointed person would also require only a simple notification, not a fresh application or formal approval.
Lease deed registration no longer mandatory
Existing rules require that the lease deed for pharmacy premises be formally registered as a condition for establishment. The proposal recommends scrapping this mandate, which has been a common bottleneck especially for pharmacies operating on informal or short-term lease arrangements.
The DCC has directed a dedicated sub-committee to study all four proposals in detail. The sub-committee will assess the legal and operational implications of each change particularly with respect to amendments needed to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and associated Rules and will submit a report for further deliberation by the full DCC before any formal recommendations are made to the government.
