Editorial Policy & Data Provenance

1. Datasets & Primary Sources

Our platform ingests and indexes official, publicly available healthcare publications from statutory bodies in India:

• PMBI Official Product Catalog: Covers 2,439 generic formulations, nutritional products, and surgical consumables published by the PMBI (janaushadhi.gov.in). Data snapshot: July 2026 revision.
• National Kendra Directory: 21,118 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendra records from the official national PMBI registry, including registered store codes, district locations, and reported PIN codes. Snapshot dated 30 September 2026.
• Pharmacological & Regulatory References: Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP), British Pharmacopoeia (BP), and United States Pharmacopeia (USP) therapeutic salt standards, alongside the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules (1945) governing Schedule H, H1, and G prescription requirements.

2. Data Provenance & Methodology

Every medicine name, price, and brand counterpart on Janaushdhi can be traced to a documented source. The table below summarises how each category of data is produced and verified.

How Brand Counterparts Are Mapped

• No CIMS or MIMS API is used. Janaushdhi does not subscribe to, query, or license the CIMS India or MIMS drug databases. No proprietary commercial drug database is used at any stage of the pipeline.
• Hand-curated benchmark brands: The top prescription benchmarks seen in Indian clinical practice are hand-curated with verified manufacturer attributions before they are published as brand equivalents.
• Public e-pharmacy price observations: The wider catalog is populated from price observations on public product pages of licensed Indian e-pharmacies (Tata 1mg, PharmEasy, Netmeds, and Apollo Pharmacy). Observations are stored with the source name, source URL, price type, and fetch timestamp.
• Strict clinical equivalence validation: Every observation must pass a validator requiring 100% active ingredient parity (with salt alias normalisation, e.g. Aciclovir/Acyclovir and Paracetamol/Acetaminophen), exact strength matching, dosage form parity, and route parity. Pack sizes are normalised to the Jan Aushadhi pack before any savings percentage is calculated.
• Price-type segregation: Selling prices and maximum retail prices (MRPs) are stored separately and never averaged together.
• Independent verification links: Each product page links out to six licensed e-pharmacy comparison searches so clinicians and patients can verify current branded prices themselves.

3. Commercial Brand Comparisons & Bioequivalence Limitations

Price transparency requires contextual comparisons against commercial market brands that patients commonly receive on prescriptions. To maintain strict scientific integrity:

• Molecule-Level Equivalence: Mappings match products strictly on declared active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and standard dosage forms (e.g. Paracetamol 650mg tablets or Metformin 500mg prolonged release).
• No Inherent Bioequivalence Guarantee: Commercial brand references are compiled for informational convenience. We do not claim or imply that every formulation has undergone comparative in vivo pharmacokinetic bioequivalence testing against specific branded comparators unless explicitly published in peer-reviewed regulatory literature.
• Estimated Comparator Prices: Commercial brand Maximum Retail Prices (MRPs) are representative market estimates reflecting prevailing manufacturer prices in India. Real-world retail prices, packaging sizes, and trade discounts vary by pharmacy, state taxation, and release year.
• Never Substitute Without Physician Advice: Different manufacturers may use different inactive excipients, extended-release polymers, or salt forms. Patients must never alter, stop, or substitute prescribed medications without the explicit guidance of a Registered Medical Practitioner.

4. Kendra Store Records & Real-Time Operational Limits

While we index 21,118 listed Jan Aushadhi Kendras across India, users must note the operational boundaries of directory data:

• Physical Inventory: Janaushdhi does not track live, real-time store stock. Listing a Kendra does not guarantee that a specific drug code is currently on the shelf.
• Operating Status: PMBI licenses, store locations, and operating hours can change locally. Kendras marked with null coordinates or pending verifications are surfaced with clear caveats.

5. Clinical Review & Transparency Standards

In accordance with Google Search Central Quality Guidelines (E-E-A-T):

• We do not manufacture fictitious "medical reviewer" credentials or use generic badges to simulate institutional authority.
• All clinical indications, dosage warnings, and contraindication summaries are synthesized directly from approved national package inserts, regulatory schedules, and standard pharmacopoeial monographs.
• This portal is strictly informational. We do not offer telemedicine consultations, prescribe treatments, dispense pharmaceuticals, or process financial transactions.

6. AI-Assisted Content & Clinical Review Process

We are explicit about which parts of this directory are machine-generated and which are sourced deterministically from official data.

• Deterministic, non-AI data: Drug codes, generic names, pack sizes, PMBI MRPs, dosage forms, and Rx/OTC schedules are parsed directly from the official PMBI product list. These fields are not AI-generated.
• AI-assisted clinical summaries: Plain-language descriptions, how-to-use guidance, possible side effects, and warnings are synthesised by AI systems constrained to pharmacopoeial and regulatory references.
• Reference sources: CDSCO National Formulary, the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP), British Pharmacopoeia (BP), United States Pharmacopeia (USP), approved package inserts, and MedlinePlus (NLM/NIH).
• Not clinician-reviewed at scale: AI output can contain errors or omissions. Every product page labels clinical summaries as AI-assisted and provides a one-click error reporting path.
• Educational only: Clinical summaries are not prescriptive and never replace the judgement of a Registered Medical Practitioner.

7. Corrections & Error Reporting Protocol

Public health data accuracy is an ongoing collaborative process. If you spot a pricing discrepancy, outdated Kendra address, or flawed brand mapping: