The Health & Family Welfare Department (AYUSH Branch), Government of West Bengal, issued a notification on September 1, 2017, permitting registered AYUSH practitioners to prescribe select modern medicines. This decision builds upon an earlier 2014 order and draws authority from the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, framed under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
Under the new directive, practitioners who meet the qualifications outlined in the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, and are registered with the relevant West Bengal state council, may administer a defined set of allopathic drugs. These include common antacids, antimalarial and antiparasitic drugs, select antibiotics, antiemetics, paracetamol, ORS, bronchodilators, oral contraceptives, vitamin A, and iron-folic acid supplements — subject to their training under the prescribed CCIM curriculum.
However, the order explicitly bars AYUSH doctors from handling medico-legal cases, conducting autopsies, performing intravenous procedures, undertaking surgeries beyond traditional Ayurvedic/Unani methods, or administering blood transfusions.
The notification was signed by the Director General, AYUSH & Secretary, and circulated to relevant departmental heads for compliance.
Written By: Sayan Das
Graphics by; Pramit Hazra
