Braille on Medicine Packs: India’s Push for Accessible Healthcare and the Road Ahead 

India is advancing toward mandating Braille and accessible labelling on medicines following a 2024 Supreme Court directive that highlighted the current inaccessibility as a violation of constitutional rights. In response, the national drug regulator (CDSCO) has proposed voluntary measures like Braille on cartons and QR codes for audio information. However, these lack binding force and timelines. To be effective, India must move beyond consultation to enact mandatory, practical standards—likely a hybrid model combining standardized Braille specimens at pharmacies, universally mandated QR codes, and trained pharmacist guidance—to ensure the safety, dignity, and independence of millions of visually impaired citizens.

Braille on Medicine Packs: India’s Push for Accessible Healthcare and the Road Ahead 

Ensuring equitable healthcare extends beyond making medicines affordable; it requires guaranteeing that crucial information about those medicines is accessible to all. For millions of visually impaired Indians, reading a prescription label or an expiry date is an insurmountable barrier, transforming a routine act of self-care into a moment of risk and dependence. After years of advocacy, India is now at a critical regulatory juncture, actively exploring measures to make drug labels accessible. This movement, driven by judicial intervention and evolving policy, seeks to bridge a significant gap in patient safety and autonomy, but its success hinges on implementing practical, scalable solutions. 

The Legal and Judicial Catalyst for Change 

India’s journey toward accessible medicine labelling has been propelled forward by its judiciary. The foundational legal framework, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, ensures drug safety and authenticity but remains silent on accessibility. Conversely, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016, mandates accessible information but lacks specific, enforceable standards for drug packaging. 

This gap led to significant judicial action. In August 2024, the Supreme Court of India issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that argued the absence of Braille on essential items like medicines, currency, and consumer products constitutes a form of “indirect or hostile discrimination”. The petition, highlighting daily struggles such as identifying currency notes post-demonetization and managing medications, framed the issue as a violation of constitutional rights to equality, dignity, and life. This judicial scrutiny created substantial momentum, putting regulatory bodies on notice to act. 

Current Regulatory Proposals: A Step Forward with Limitations 

Responding to longstanding representations and judicial pressure, India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) took a definitive step in September 2025. It invited public comments on a set of proposals from a dedicated sub-committee aimed at aiding visually impaired patients. 

Key Recommendations Include: 

• Braille Labelling: Introducing Braille on the outer cartons (mono-carton packs) of medicines on a voluntary basis, with priority for products like eye drops that are frequently used by the visually impaired. 

• Alternative Formats: Including separate Braille cards inside secondary packaging for bulk supplies and making Patient Information Leaflets available in Braille, large print, or audio upon request. 

• Digital Integration: Adding QR codes on packaging that link to voice-assisted audio information, providing an immediate, tech-enabled solution. 

• Human Touch: Advising pharmacists and retailers to provide systematic verbal guidance on medicine names, dosage, and expiry dates. 

A critical—and contentious—exemption in the proposal is for products “administered under the supervision of healthcare professionals,” such as injectables and vaccines. This has raised concerns, as it potentially excludes self-administered injectables like prefilled insulin or weight-loss pens, which are crucial for independent living for many. 

While these proposals mark a vital acknowledgment of the problem, they currently exist only in a consultative phase. They lack a binding mandate, clear implementation timelines, and an enforcement framework. This uncertainty leaves the initiative dependent on voluntary industry compliance, a model with a historically uneven record in ensuring widespread accessibility. 

Proposed Measures vs. Practical Implementation 

The Global Context and Implementation Realities 

India’s efforts align with a global movement. The European Union, for instance, has mandated Braille labelling of medicine names on outer packaging for years under Directive 2001/83/EC. However, international experience also reveals significant hurdles. A U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that while many pharmacies could provide labels in Braille, audio, or large print, less than 1% of prescriptions were actually dispensed with them. The challenges cited—low awareness, high cost, technical issues, and a lack of mandatory requirements—mirror those India must overcome. 

A crucial, often overlooked factor is Braille literacy itself. Global estimates of Braille literacy among the blind population vary dramatically, with some studies suggesting rates as low as 10%. This underscores that Braille, while essential, cannot be the sole solution. A multi-format strategy—combining tactile Braille for those who use it, audio via QR codes, large print, and reliable verbal counselling—is necessary for true inclusivity. 

The Path to Practical Implementation: A Hybrid Model 

For India to succeed, regulation must be matched with ground-level pragmatism. A hybrid, pharmacist-centric model may offer the most viable path forward. 

• Standardized Specimens Over Universal Embossing: Instead of the technically challenging and costly prospect of embossing full information on every blister strip or small bottle, manufacturers could be required to produce one validated Braille specimen for each drug product. Pharmacists would keep these at the point of sale, providing them to patients upon request alongside the standard medicine package. 

• Leveraging Digital Tools Universally: Mandating a scannable QR code on all packages is a highly scalable solution. This code should link not to a generic website but to a dedicated, verified audio file stating the drug name, dosage, key instructions, and expiry date in clear, concise terms. This serves both Braille-literate and non-Braille users. 

• Empowering Pharmacists as Accessibility Hubs: Pharmacists are the final and most critical link. Moving beyond advisories, mandatory accessibility training should be incorporated into their licensure and continuing education. The pharmacy counter must become a reliable point where verbal confirmation and accessible formats are consistently provided. 

• Clarifying Exemptions and Including All Self-Administered Drugs: The regulatory language must be refined to ensure that any medicine or device designed for regular self-administration by a patient is included in accessibility mandates, regardless of its injectable format. 

Conclusion: From Consultation to Concrete Rights 

The CDSCO’s consultation is a commendable start, but it is only that—a start. The real measure of progress will be the translation of these proposals into binding regulations with clear deadlines. The Supreme Court’s oversight and the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution demand nothing less. 

For the visually impaired citizen, accessible labelling is not a luxury; it is a matter of safety, dignity, and constitutional entitlement. It is the difference between confident self-management and vulnerable dependence. As India positions itself as a global pharmacy, it must also lead in designing an inclusive pharmaceutical ecosystem where every patient, regardless of ability, can independently and safely use the medicines they need. The blueprint is now on the table; the imperative is to build it into reality.