Generic name: the prescribing rule in India, as it stands Regulation 1.5 after the 2016 substitution, what the 2023 regulations would have added, and where they stand.

A generic name is the non-proprietary name of a drug, and regulation 1.5 of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations 2002, as substituted in 2016, says "Every physician should prescribe drugs with generic names legibly and preferably in capital letters". The NMC's 2023 regulations put the definition this way: "Non-Proprietary or approved name of a drug is also known as the generic name of the drug. Non-proprietary name is the name accepted by a competent scientific body/ regulatory authority." A brand name belongs to one company; the generic name is the same on every company's pack.

What does the rule in force say?

The 2002 regulations as amended up to 8 October 2016 print the original clause 1.5 ("Every physician should, as far as possible, prescribe drugs with generic names") and then the substituted text: "Every physician should prescribe drugs with generic names legibly and preferably in capital letters and he/she shall ensure that there is a rational prescription and use of drugs". The words "as far as possible" were dropped in 2016. The clause sits in Chapter 1 among the duties of a physician; it does not list drugs, and neither does this entry.

Did the 2023 NMC regulations change it?

They would have. Regulation 8 of the NMC Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations 2023, published on 2 August 2023, began "Every RMP should prescribe drugs using generic names written legibly" and came with a Generic Medicine and Prescription Guideline. On 23 August 2023 the NMC notified that the 2023 regulations "are hereby held in abeyance with immediate effect" and "shall not be operative and effective till further Gazette Notification", and that it "adopts and makes effective with immediate effect" the 2002 regulations. So the 2016 wording of regulation 1.5 is what applies.

What happened in 2025?

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in Yogesh vs State of Haryana (CRM-M-30305-2024), ordered on 27 August 2025 that the NMC reinforce legible prescribing. The NMC's Post-Graduate Medical Education Board issued public notice N-P016(11)2/2023-PGMEB-NMC on 11 December 2025, which records that the court "referred to the provisions of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, and the MCI Notification dated 21.09.2016, all of which mandate that every medical practitioner must write prescriptions legibly and preferably in capital letters". The notice is addressed to medical colleges and asks them to set up a sub-committee to monitor prescriptions; it creates no new rule for a private clinic. Our post on generic name prescription rules walks through the pad line by line.

What does it mean for a clinic pad?

A general physician's pad lists each medicine by its generic name in capitals, with strength, dose and duration, written so a chemist in another town can read it. Regulation 1.4.1 adds the registration number to every prescription and 3.7.2 the doctor's name and designation "in full along with registration particulars". If the clinic dispenses, regulation 3.7.1 says the prescription should make that clear. What else belongs on the sheet is in what a prescription must contain.