The Pharmacy education and profession in India upto graduate level is regulated by the PCI, a statutory body governed by the provisions of the Pharmacy Act, 1948 passed by the Parliament.
The functions of PCI are as follows:
- To prescribe minimum standard of education required for qualifying as a pharmacist. (Ref.: section 10 of the Pharmacy Act)
- Framing of Education Regulations prescribing the conditions to be fulfilled by the institutions seeking approval of the PCI for imparting education in pharmacy. (Ref.: section 10 of the Pharmacy Act)
- To ensure uniform implementation of the educational standards through out the country. (Ref. : section 10 of the Pharmacy Act)
- Inspection of Pharmacy Institutions seeking approval under the Pharmacy Act to verify availability of the prescribed norms. (Ref.: section 16 of the Pharmacy Act)
- To approve the course of study and examination for pharmacists i.e. approval of the academic training institutions providing pharmacy courses. (Ref. : section 12 of the Pharmacy Act)
- To withdraw approval, if the approved course of study or an approved examination does not continue to be in conformity with the educational standards prescribed by the PCI. (Ref.: section 13 of the Pharmacy Act)
- To approve qualifications granted outside the territories to which the Pharmacy Act extends i.e. the approval of foreign qualification. (Ref. : section 14 of the Pharmacy Act)
- To maintain Central Register of Pharmacists. (Ref. : section 15 A of the Pharmacy Act)
Ref.: https://pci.nic.in/
