भारतीय भेषज संहिता आयोग
National Formulary of India (NFI)
The National Formulary of India is essentially meant for the guidance of the members of the
medical and pharmaceutical profession; medical students, nurses and pharmacists etc. working
in hospitals, dispensaries and in sales establishments. In the preparation of this Formulary, the
expert opinion of medical practitioners, teachers in medicine, nurses, pharmacists etc. has been
obtained. The selection of drugs for inclusion in the National Formulary has been made taking
into consideration the relative advantages and disadvantages of the various drugs used in
current medical practice and their availability in the country. Thus the National Formulary of
India represents a broad consensus of expert opinion in respect of drugs and their formulations
and provides the physicians with carefully selected therapeutic agents of proved effectiveness
which form the basis of rational drug therapy.
The National Formulary of India is an authoritative guide to prescribing, dispensing and
administering medicines for healthcare professionals. It will be useful for framing national drug
policies in the country. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India vide its
notification F. No. X. 11035/2/06-DFQC, dated 8 th May 2008 assigned this mandatory
responsibility to the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, Ghaziabad to publish NFI on regular
basis. The IPC has published three consecutive editions of National Formulary of India since its
formation. The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission has published the 4 th Edition, 5 th Edition and
6 th Edition of NFI.
Chronology of National Formulary of India (NFI):
The Chronology of Publication National Formulary of India is as follows:-
1. The First Edition of NFI – National Formulary of India, 1960
2. The Second Edition of NFI –National Formulary of India, 1966
3. The Third Edition of NFI – National Formulary of India, 1979
4. The Fourth Edition of NFI – National Formulary of India, 2011
5. The Fifth Edition of NFI – National Formulary of India, 2016
6. The Sixth Edition of NFI (Current Edition) – National Formulary of India, 2021
