How homoeopathy is regulated in India today

Homoeopathy in India is not a free-for-all. There are rules. They cover who can study it, what they must learn, who can practise, and how medicines are made. This piece explains who sets those rules, in plain words.

We will stick to what the official documents in our syllabus library say. Where we are not sure of something, we say so.

The body at the centre: the NCH

The main regulator for homoeopathic education in India is the National Commission for Homoeopathy, or NCH. It writes the regulations for the degree courses. It also publishes the detailed curriculum for each subject.

You will see the NCH named on almost every official document about homoeopathic study. Every academic piece on this platform is checked against its syllabus.

The undergraduate degree: BHMS

The first degree is the BHMS, the Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery. It is governed by the NCH BHMS Regulations of 2022. The official gazette date for these is 7 December 2022. An amendment followed in 2025, with a gazette date of 6 January 2025.

The regulations set the shape of the course. There are four professional years. The first runs for 18 months, and the next three for 12 months each. Then comes a 12-month internship. In total, that is five and a half years.

Entry is through NEET-UG, the national entrance test. The regulations set a minimum of the 50th percentile, with relaxations for some categories.

The regulations do not hold the full syllabus themselves. They say the detailed syllabus will be notified separately by the Homoeopathy Education Board. That is why each subject has its own curriculum document, called a CBDC. The letters stand for Competency Based Dynamic Curriculum.

The postgraduate degree: MD (Homoeopathy)

After the BHMS, a graduate can study for an MD in Homoeopathy. This is governed by the NCH postgraduate regulations of 2024. They were notified in March 2024, came into force on 21 March 2024, and replaced the older MD regulations of 1989.

The MD course runs for three years. A research paper is required. So is a certificate in Basic Cardiac Life Support, often shortened to BCLS.

The NCH’s curriculum lists seven MD specialities: Materia Medica, Organon of Medicine and Homoeopathic Philosophy, Repertory and Case Taking, Homoeopathic Pharmacy, Practice of Medicine, Paediatrics and Psychiatry.

An honest note here. The NCH website has also published curricula for Community Medicine and Dermatology at MD level. Whether these are now full specialities is an open question in our records. We are not treating them as settled until it is clear.

Who may practise: registration

Finishing a degree is not the last step. A homoeopath who practises must be registered. In India, that registration is with a State Council or on the NCH National Register.

A registration number is something you can ask a practitioner for, and it can be checked. On this platform, a practitioner’s registration is part of what we verify before a listing goes live.

How medicines are regulated

Medicines have their own set of rules. You can see them in the first-year BHMS Pharmacy syllabus. It has a chapter called “Legislations pertaining to Homoeopathic Pharmacy”. That chapter lists, among others:

• the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.
• the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.
• the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

The second of these deals with advertising. It is part of why you should be careful with any advert that makes big promises about a medicine.

Standards for how homoeopathic medicines are made are set out in the Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia of India, known as the HPI. The syllabus also names the Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Laboratory, which works on the quality control of drugs, and the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicines.

We are describing what the syllabus teaches here. For the legal detail of any law, the law itself is the authority.

What this means for you

If you are choosing a homoeopath, you have two simple things to check. What degree do they hold? And what is their registration number? Both are fair questions.

If you are a student, the rules above shape your whole course, from entry to internship.

And whatever you are, this piece is information, not medical advice. For any health question, speak to a qualified, registered practitioner.

Where to read more on this platform

“Reading a practitioner’s qualifications: BHMS, MD, registration” explains how to read the letters after a practitioner’s name. “How practitioner verification works on this platform” shows what we check before a listing goes live. Students can find the full course, year by year, under Courses in the Learn section.