Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) is published by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) on behalf of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India in fulfillment of the requirements of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules 1945 thereunder. IP is recognized as the official book of standards for the drugs being manufactured and/or marketed in India. IP contains a collection of authoritative procedures of analysis and specifications of drugs for their identity, purity and strength. The standards of the IP are authoritative in nature and are enforced by the regulatory authorities for ensuring the quality of drugs in India. During quality assurance and at the time of dispute in the court of law the IP standards are legally acceptable.
History of IP

The history of the IP began in the year 1833 when a committee of the East Indian Company’s Dispensary recommended the publication of a Pharmacopoeia and Bengal Pharmacopoeia and General Conspectus of Medicinal Plants was published in 1844, which mainly listed most of the commonly used indigenous remedies. This was followed by IP 1868, which covered both the drugs of British Pharmacopoeia (BP) 1867 and indigenous drugs used in India, with a supplement published in 1869 incorporating the vernacular names of indigenous drugs and plants. However, from 1885 the BP was made official in India. A drug Enquiry Committee appointed in 1927 by the government recommended the publication of a National Pharmacopoeia.