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 The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025, which was officially introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 15 this year, provides a clear legal guarantee that the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) will be retained.
The proposed legislation explicitly permits the PCI to continue functioning under its original statutory framework, the Pharmacy Act, 1948.
Contrary to earlier speculations regarding its abolition in favour of a National Pharmacy Commission (NPC), the Bill confirms that no such body is being formed, ensuring that pharmacy education remains under its established expert leadership.
The Bill is central to the government’s ‘Viksit Bharat @ 2047’ vision, which seeks to transform India into a Global Knowledge Hub (Vishwa Guru) by 2047. Key targets of this vision include increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) to 50% by 2035 and establishing world-class research facilities to retain domestic talent. By explicitly exempting professional pharmacy programmes from the Bill’s primary regulatory umbrella, the government ensures that while general and technical education moves toward a new centralized regulator, pharmacy maintains its independent authority to govern professional education and clinical standards.
This strategic choice to maintain specialized oversight mirrors the broader organization of India's healthcare sector, which is increasingly governed by dedicated, expert-led commissions. This structure includes the National Medical Commission [NMC] (which replaced the Medical Council of India), the National Commission for Homoeopathy [NCH] (which replaced the Central Council of Homoeopathy), and the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine [NCISM] (which replaced the Central Council of Indian Medicine). Additionally, the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission [NNMC] (which replaced the Indian Nursing Council) oversees nursing standards, while the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions [NCAHP] regulates over 50 roles, such as physiotherapy and medical laboratory sciences. This specialized framework further reinforces the policy of ensuring that health science regulation remains in the hands of domain experts, even as the broader educational landscape undergoes reform.
The Bill positions the PCI as an ‘independent partner’ that maintains a legal wall against general regulation while building collaborative bridges to the national framework. Under Section 8(3), the newly established apex Commission (VBSA) may invite nominees from the PCI as ‘special invitees’ when deciding on matters pertaining to its exclusive domain. This ensures that pharmacy-specific expertise continues to influence high-level national strategic planning and educational roadmaps.
A major goal of the 2025 Bill is the transformation of institutions into large multi-disciplinary research centers. The legislation permits any higher educational institution to offer pharmacy programmes, provided they strictly fulfill the statutory requirements laid down by the PCI. This creates a hybrid model where a university's general academic and administrative standards are overseen by the three new national councils, the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Viniyaman Parishad (Regulatory Council), the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Gunvatta Parishad (Accreditation Council), and the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Manak Parishad (Standards Council), while its pharmacy wing remains strictly bound by the professional and clinical standards of the PCI.
Furthermore, the PCI will coordinate with the new Commission to align its professional curriculum with national strategic objectives. This includes the promotion and integration of Bharatiya knowledge, languages, and arts across the multi-disciplinary higher education system. Such coordination is designed to ensure that pharmacy education evolves in tandem with national cultural and educational shifts without losing its critical clinical focus.
The PCI is also expected to align with the Bill’s push for transparent public disclosure of all academic, operational, and financial matters. The Bill mandates that all institutions report truthful information on a public website maintained by the new Regulatory Council. By adopting these transparency benchmarks, the PCI will ensure that pharmacy institutions nationwide are held to the same high levels of public accountability as other sectors in the higher education landscape.
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