What can an AYUSH clinic say in its ads, website and social posts in India?
Updated 8 min readFacts checked
Narrowly. The Drugs and Magic Remedies Act 1954 bans advertising a cure for 54 listed diseases and any magic remedy claim. Rule 170's pre-approval rule for Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani drug ads stands omitted since August 2025. NCISM and NCH ethics codes ban soliciting patients, and ASCI requires every claim to be provable. General information, not legal advice.
Key takeaways
- The Drugs and Magic Remedies Act 1954 does not ban AYUSH advertising in general. It bans two specific things: claiming to cure any of 54 listed diseases, and any 'magic remedy' claim, backed by a first-conviction penalty of up to six months' imprisonment, a fine, or both, with no fixed rupee cap written into the Act.
- Rule 170, which required state pre-approval for an Ayurvedic, Siddha or Unani drug advertisement, has been omitted, stayed and un-stayed three times since mid-2023. The Supreme Court's order of 11 Aug 2025 let the omission stand, so no central pre-approval rule is currently in force, though the fight is not fully over.
- NMC's 2002 code does not apply to AYUSH practitioners. Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa doctors answer to NCISM's ethics regulation; homeopathy doctors answer to NCH's. Both ban soliciting patients the same way NMC does, and a state ethics committee has already fined a practitioner Rs 50,000 under these rules in a case decided in December 2025 for a 'cures cancer and diabetes' claim.
- A 2020 draft bill would raise the banned-disease list from 54 to 78 and the penalty to up to 5 years and Rs 50 lakh. As of the date checked it is still a draft, not law, and treating it as current would overstate what the Act actually says.
On this page
Four rulebooks touch an Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani or Siddha clinic's advertising at the same time, and one of them has changed direction three times in the last two years. Most pages online either quote a rule that no longer applies or skip the practitioner-ethics angle entirely. Here is what each rule actually says today, with the section numbers and dates, so you can check your own website, signboard and Instagram bio against the current text rather than a 2022 blog post.
Can an AYUSH clinic advertise at all in India?
Yes. You can say your clinic exists, list the therapies you offer, and state your fees. What gets restricted is a cure claim for a specific list of diseases, anything framed as a "magic" remedy, patient soliciting, and any claim that cannot be independently proven. Four separate rulebooks apply together, and none of them replaces the others.
| Rule | Applies to | What it restricts in advertising |
|---|---|---|
| Drugs and Magic Remedies Act 1954, ss. 3 and 4 | Any advertisement of any drug, AYUSH included | Claiming to cure 54 listed diseases, any ‘magic remedy’, or any false or misleading drug claim |
| Rule 170, Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945 | Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani drug advertisements | State pre-approval before an ad claim beyond the licence; currently omitted, see below |
| NCISM Board of Ethics and Registration Regulation | Registered Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa practitioners | Soliciting patients, unproven therapeutic claims |
| NCH Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Code of Ethics Regulations, 2022 | Registered homeopathy practitioners | Soliciting patients directly or indirectly, self-advertisement beyond a permitted announcement |
| ASCI Code | Any advertisement published in India | Claims, including a cure or success claim, that cannot be substantiated |
Sources: Indian Kanoon: The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 (full text) (checked 17 Sep 2026); Verdictum: Supreme Court vacates the stay on Rule 170's omission (11 Aug 2025) (checked 17 Sep 2026); NCISM: Board of Ethics and Registration Regulation, 2022 (checked 17 Sep 2026); National Commission for Homoeopathy: Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Code of Ethics (for Practitioners of Homoeopathy) Regulations, 2022 (checked 17 Sep 2026); ASCI: The ASCI Code (checked 17 Sep 2026).Rule 170 and the NCISM/NCH codes sit on top of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act for an AYUSH clinic. None of the five cancels the others out.
What does the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act actually ban?
Less than most summaries suggest, but the two things it does ban are specific and carry a criminal penalty. Section 3 bans advertising any drug for inducing miscarriage, preventing conception, correcting a menstrual disorder, improving sexual capacity, or curing, mitigating or preventing any of 54 diseases and disorders named in the Act's Schedule.
That last exemption matters for an AYUSH clinic specifically. The Act's definition of "registered medical practitioner" includes anyone "entitled to be registered as a medical practitioner under any law for the time being in force in any State," which should cover a practitioner registered with their state Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha or Homeopathy board, or under NCISM or NCH. A signboard naming the conditions you treat, on your own premises, sits differently from a public advertisement making the same claim.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| First conviction | 6 months |
| Subsequent conviction | 12 months |
Source: Indian Kanoon: Section 7 (Penalty), Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954 (checked 17 Sep 2026).A repeat offence roughly doubles the maximum jail term; the fine amount is left to the court either way.
A 2020 draft bill would expand the Schedule from 54 to 78 diseases and disorders, including skin fairness, sexual performance and baldness, and raise the penalty to up to 2 years and Rs 10 lakh for a first offence, and up to 5 years and Rs 50 lakh for a repeat one. As of the date checked, that bill remains a draft. The currently operative Schedule is still the 1954 list of 54.
What is Rule 170, and is it in force right now?
Rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945 required a State Licensing Authority to pre-approve an advertisement for an Ayurvedic, Siddha or Unani drug before it named a specific disease. It is the single most contested rule in this space, and its status has changed three times in about two years, all inside one Supreme Court case.
Rule 170 notified
The Ayush Ministry inserts the pre-approval requirement for ASU drug advertisements.Ministry tells states to stop enforcing it
A letter, later challenged, asks states to pause action under Rule 170.Supreme Court orders the letter withdrawn
Same order also creates the self-declaration mechanism for advertisers.Ayush Ministry omits Rule 170 entirely
Instead of withdrawing the letter, the rule itself is removed from the statute.Supreme Court stays the omission
“Rule 170 shall remain in the statute book,” the bench holds.Supreme Court vacates its own stay
“A repeal of a repeal will not revive” the rule; the omission stands, parties may still approach High Courts.NCISM fines a practitioner Rs 50,000
A separate, unrelated ethics case shows enforcement continuing without Rule 170.
What do NCISM and NCH's ethics codes allow and ban?
This is the piece most general "doctor advertising" articles get wrong for an AYUSH clinic: NMC has no jurisdiction here. Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa practitioners are registered under the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine, set up by the NCISM Act 2020, and answer to its Board of Ethics and Registration Regulation. Homeopathy practitioners are registered under the National Commission for Homoeopathy, set up by the NCH Act 2020, and answer to its own Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Code of Ethics Regulations, 2022.
| What you want to say | Where it stands | What it rests on |
|---|---|---|
| A signboard naming the diseases treated, on your own premises | Allowed | DMR Act s. 14 signboard exemption for a registered practitioner |
| Your consultation and treatment fees, stated plainly | Generally allowed | NCISM and NCH ethics codes both permit declaring charges, as NMC's does for MBBS doctors |
| “Permanently cures diabetes/cancer/asthma” as a headline claim | Not allowed | DMR Act ss. 3–4; ASCI substantiation rule; a real Dec 2025 fine for this exact wording |
| Calling a formulation a “magic” or “miracle” remedy | Not allowed | DMR Act s. 2(c) definition of magic remedy |
| An ad for a specific licensed Ayurvedic, Siddha or Unani drug naming a disease | Unsettled, check first | Rule 170's pre-approval requirement is omitted centrally but contested |
| Using an agent or tout to bring in patients | Not allowed | NCISM's ethics regulation bans procuring patients through touts or agents |
| A named patient's testimonial or before/after photo | Unclear, get consent first | Consent solves privacy; it does not solve ASCI's substantiation requirement |
Rows describe general patterns under the rules named above, not a ruling on any specific advertisement.
What does ASCI require, and what actually gets enforced?
ASCI has co-ordinated with the Ayush Ministry on this since 2017 and sits on the government's own empowered committee reviewing misleading ASU and homeopathic drug advertisements, alongside its general rule that every claim in an ad has to be capable of proof.
Enforcement is not theoretical. In a case decided on 18 Dec 2025, an Ayurveda practitioner was fined Rs 50,000 by an ethics committee for a social media post claiming a therapy could "completely cure" diabetes, obesity, asthma, cancer and ulcers, a violation reported under NCISM's ethics regulation rather than ASCI or the DMR Act. That is the pattern worth remembering: a false cure claim can be caught by more than one body at once, and the practitioner-ethics route is now producing real, named, dated decisions of its own.
Separately, the Supreme Court's order of 7 May 2024 created a self-declaration mechanism: an advertiser must file a certificate before an ad runs on TV, radio, in print or on a digital platform, confirming it follows the government's misleading-advertisement guidelines. This is filed through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's own portals by the advertiser or agency placing the ad, not by every clinic with a website, so it mainly matters if you or an agency are booking a paid AYUSH ad through a broadcaster or publisher.
What can a clinic safely put on its website and social posts?
Stick to what a patient needs to decide whether to walk in, not what might persuade them to. That line does most of the compliance work by itself.
- Safe: the therapies you offer, your registration number and qualifications, your fees, address, timings and how to book. See what to show about your registration number and the rules on displaying your fees.
- General education, under your own name: what a therapy involves in plain language, without tying the explanation to a promised cure or outcome.
- Risky: any wording that promises to cure, permanently fix or guarantee relief from a named disease, "magic" or "miracle" framing, and a bare success percentage with no independent source.
- Unclear, ask first: patient testimonials, before-after posts, and any ad naming a specific licensed drug and a disease together, given Rule 170's unsettled status.
A compliant content checklist
Run any ad, website line or social caption past this before it goes live. None of it needs a lawyer to check, though a lawyer is worth involving for anything that still looks unclear afterwards.
Before you publish an AYUSH clinic ad, website line or social post
It does not claim to cure, treat or prevent a listed disease, unless it is a signboard on your own registered premises.
Section 14 of the DMR Act protects the signboard; a public ad or post making the same claim is not protected.
It does not call any formulation a “magic”, “miracle” or similarly worded remedy.
Any therapeutic or success claim has an independent source you can name.
Not your own patient count. An audit, a published study, or a dated, verifiable figure.
It states a therapy, a service or a fee, rather than urging someone to act now.
No tout, agent or paid referral arrangement is bringing in the patient.
Your NCISM/NCH or state board registration number and qualifications are correct wherever they appear.
If you are advertising a specific licensed Ayurvedic, Siddha or Unani drug, not just your clinic's services, check the current position with your State Licensing Authority.
Rule 170's status has changed three times since 2023 and may change again.
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules and their enforcement can change, and Rule 170's status in particular is still being contested; check with your state AYUSH regulatory body or a lawyer before publishing anything you're unsure about.
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Common questions
Can an Ayurvedic or homeopathy clinic say it treats diabetes or cancer?
A signboard or notice on your own registered premises saying you treat a listed disease is exempted under section 14 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act. A public ad, website headline or social post claiming to cure or mitigate diabetes, cancer or any of the Act's 54 listed diseases is different: sections 3 and 4 ban it, and ASCI would separately want independent proof before accepting any cure claim. The safer line is naming the therapy or service you offer, not promising an outcome.
Is Rule 170 in force right now?
As of the Supreme Court's order of 11 Aug 2025 in Indian Medical Association v Union of India, no. The Ayush Ministry omitted Rule 170 on 1 Jul 2024, the Supreme Court stayed that omission on 27 Aug 2024, and on 11 Aug 2025 a different bench vacated its own stay, holding that a repeal of a repeal does not revive the original rule. The Court left parties free to raise the issue in the High Courts, so this could move again. Ask your State Licensing Authority before assuming no approval is needed for a specific drug advertisement.
Does the NMC's advertising code apply to Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha or homeopathy doctors?
No. NMC regulates MBBS-qualified doctors only. Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa practitioners are registered and regulated by NCISM, under its own Board of Ethics and Registration Regulation, and homeopathy practitioners by NCH, under its Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Code of Ethics Regulations. Both were set up by separate 2020 Acts of Parliament and both carry a soliciting ban similar in spirit to NMC's, but they are not the same regulator and citing NMC rules for an AYUSH clinic is a mismatch some general advertising guides get wrong.
What is a 'magic remedy' under Indian law?
Section 2(c) of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act defines it as a talisman, mantra, kavacha or any other charm claimed to have miraculous powers to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or prevent a disease, or to affect any bodily structure or function. In practice, the term has also been read to cover product claims that borrow the same 'miraculous cure' framing without any object involved, which is why the Act sits alongside, not instead of, the disease-specific ban in section 3.
Can an AYUSH clinic advertise its consultation fee?
Generally yes. Both NCISM's and NCH's ethics regulations follow the same pattern as NMC's 2002 code: soliciting patients is treated as unethical, but a plain, public declaration of your charges is not. State the fee, the service and how to book, and leave outcome language out of it.
What actually happens if an AYUSH practitioner posts a false cure claim online?
It can carry a real cost, not just a warning. In a case decided on 18 Dec 2025, an Ayurveda practitioner was fined Rs 50,000 by an ethics committee under NCISM's regulations for a social media claim that a therapy could 'completely cure' diabetes, cancer, asthma and several other conditions. Separately, the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act carries its own criminal penalty, and ASCI can uphold a complaint and ask for the ad to be withdrawn or modified.
Facts checked against the sources listed on this page.
Sources
- 1.Indian Kanoon: The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 (full text) (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- 2.Indian Kanoon: Section 7 (Penalty), Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954 (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- 3.Mondaq: Draft Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- 4.LiveLaw: Supreme Court stays Ayush Ministry's notification omitting Rule 170 (27 Aug 2024) (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- 5.Verdictum: Supreme Court vacates the stay on Rule 170's omission (11 Aug 2025) (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- 6.Medical Dialogues: SC disposes IMA plea, lifts stay on Ayush ad pre-approval rule (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- 7.The National Law Review (Nishith Desai Associates): Self-declaration mechanism for misleading advertisements (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- 8.NCISM: Board of Ethics and Registration Regulation, 2022 (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- 9.Medical Dialogues: Ayurveda practitioner fined Rs 50,000 for misleading social media claims (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- 10.National Commission for Homoeopathy: Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Code of Ethics (for Practitioners of Homoeopathy) Regulations, 2022 (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- 11.ASCI: The ASCI Code (checked 17 Sep 2026)
- 12.Business Standard: ASCI part of Ayush panel to check misleading drug ads (checked 17 Sep 2026)
Update log
- : published.