 The observance of World Pharmacists Day (WPD) 2025 on September 25 unleashed a powerful, unified national commitment across India, signalling a significant shift in recognizing the profession's indispensable role in healthcare.
From the plains of Punjab to the far reaches of Mizoram and the southern tip of Kerala, the celebrations, which were held across the country and echoed the theme ‘Think Health, Think Pharmacist’, were a resounding call for pharmacists to be fully integrated into the nation’s health strategy.
The academic and professional leadership in North India set a strategic tone at Panjab University (PU), where the Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) Punjab Branch, the University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), and the Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC) emphasized a dual focus on entrepreneurship and ethical practice. Dr. Bhupinder Singh Bhoop, president of the IPA Punjab state branch, underscored the global significance of the observance, noting its celebration across over 156 countries. Key leaders urged young professionals to become not just clinicians, but innovative business leaders, reflecting a national ambition to strengthen the pharmaceutical ecosystem from within.
This educational excellence was globally affirmed by the Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research (SPSR), a Delhi-based organization, which marked the day with a major milestone, its 101st International Webinar. The event, focused on pharmacists as role models, attracted over 2,200 participants from 30 countries, with the key address by Dr. Prakash Diwan, former founder director of NIPER-Hyderabad, stressing the need for pharmacists to uphold professionalism, ethics, leadership, and innovation. This massive international outreach reinforces India's stature as a powerhouse for pharmaceutical thought leadership and knowledge exchange.
Crucially, the celebrations secured direct governmental endorsement in the North-East. At the event in Aizawl, the health minister of Mizoram, Pi Lalrinpuii, made an emphatic public call for the urgent recruitment of pharmacists in various government posts within the state. The event, organized by the Mizoram State Pharmacy Council and involving institutions like Laithangpuii College of Pharmacy and RIPANS, highlighted the vital need for state-level investment in the pharmacy workforce.
Across peninsular India, the events highlighted strong community and clinical focus. In Maharashtra, students from Nanded Pharmacy College (Poly) conducted outreach by visiting and felicitating fellow pharmacists, symbolizing deep professional solidarity, followed by the compulsory Pharmacist Oath Ceremony.
Simultaneously, organizations like the Pharmacist Association in Pali and the Indian Pharmacist Association Gujarat state branch organized awareness campaigns and events across their respective regions.
The IPA Kerala state branch executed large-scale programs at St. Joseph's College of Pharmacy in Cherthala and Mar Dioscorus College of Pharmacy in Thiruvananthapuram, featuring the prestigious IPA Pharma Excellence Awards 2025 across five sectors such as Education, Research, Industry, Regulatory, and Hospital Pharmacy. These state-level awards nationally underscore that excellence in pharmacy is a multi-faceted contribution to public health.
A core message emerged during scientific and panel sessions, particularly in Kerala, where discussions tackled ‘The Future Challenges in Pharmacy Education - Industry and Practice Perspectives’. This critical dialogue, engaging leaders from numerous colleges like Amrita School of Pharmacy and Nirmala College of Health Sciences, emphasized the necessity of evolving educational models to meet the complex, modern demands of clinical and industrial practice.
The emphasis on professional commitment was nationally ubiquitous, with the Oath Ceremony being a central feature, notably at institutions like Vignan Pharmacy College in Andhra Pradesh. This act symbolically reinforced the pharmacist’s ethical responsibility to ensure medication safety, patient counselling, and public well-being, confirming the core national role of the pharmacist as a trusted guardian of medicine use.
In summary, World Pharmacists Day 2025 served as a strategic national moment where the profession, supported by every major association, hundreds of institutions, and key government figures, united around the single mandate to be seen and utilized as an accessible, essential partner in healthcare.
According to Dr G Selvaraju, president of TN IPGA, in Tamil Nadu, the celebration of annual World Pharmacists Day 2025 was a collaborative effort between the Indian Pharmacy Graduates' Association (IPGA) and Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH) in Coimbatore. The event highlighted the critical and expanding role of pharmacists in India's healthcare landscape. Dr. Nalla G Palanisamy, chairman and MD of KMCH, emphasized the pharmacist's essential function in maintaining drug standards, ensuring manufacturing quality, and monitoring drug safety and side effects for public well-being. This sentiment was echoed by national figures, with Dr V Kalaiselvan, secretary cum scientific director of the Indian Pharmacopoeial Commission (IPC), stressing the government's commitment to medicine quality standards and drug safety. He proudly noted that Indian drug standards are now accepted by 17 countries, with more showing interest, and pointed to the burgeoning sector of medical device startups initiated by the Government of India, signalling rapid growth and new opportunities for pharmacy graduates in quality control.
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