End-to-end traceability in Ayush drug supply chains: Challenges, opportunities, and policy perspectives

ABSTRACT: Traceability has emerged as a keystone of modern pharmaceutical regulation, ensuring that every product, from raw materials to patient, can be tracked and verified for authenticity, safety, and quality. In India, where the Ayush systems, i.e., Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa, and Homeopathy, are expanding rapidly, the need for end-to-end traceability is both a regulatory and public health imperative. It presents a unique traceability challenge for 8369 Ayush manufacturing units (in 2023) due to diverse raw material sources, numerous small and medium-sized producers, and mixed public–private distribution channels. Developed to streamline licensing and regulatory governance, the e-Aushadhi platform could be a key enabler for achieving end-to-end traceability within the Ayush drug supply chain. This review critically examines the current policy and regulatory frameworks to assess the potential for a comprehensive Ayush drug traceability ecosystem. It evaluates the initiatives and measures already implemented, including future opportunities through digital platforms such as e-Aushadhi and e-Charak, and benchmarks them against international traceability systems such as the European Union Falsified Medicines Directive and the US Drug Supply Chain Security Act. The review also explores the transformative potential of emerging technologies, which includes strengthening transparency, authenticity, and accountability across the Ayush drug supply chain. This article suggests an actionable, standards-based, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled policy roadmap aimed at achieving fully interoperable end-to-end traceability across Ayush drug supply chains.