Free pill identifier for India
Know your medicine from its strip.
In India the strip, not the tablet, is a medicine's ID. Scan the QR code many strips now carry, or photograph the printed side, and see the generic name, strength, maker, batch and expiry in one clear card, with any expired date or prescription warning flagged.
Found a loose tablet with no strip? We won't guess it from its colour. We'll help you describe it for a pharmacist.
- Free. No sign-up, no limit, no ads in the tool.
- Private. Your photos never leave this device.
- No guessing. It only shows what's printed or coded on the pack.
Last updated · Built and checked by the Naked Compound Research Team · How we work
Identify a medicine
Strips & cartonsSomeone swallowed it? Call the AIIMS National Poisons Information Centre, free on 1800 116 117 (24×7), or 112 in an emergency.
Sample medicine
One card, from the pack.
An invented medicine, to show how it works. Nothing here is medical advice.
What's printed, not a verdict. Photos get misread, and a code can be copied onto a fake pack, so this card can't prove a medicine is genuine. Match it against your prescription and the strip, and ask your pharmacist about anything that doesn't fit. Don't start, stop or change a medicine because of this page.
Check the details
Everything is editable. Fix anything the reader got wrong; the card updates as you type.
The text we read
Loose pill, no strip
Describe it. A pharmacist names it.
A white round tablet could be any of hundreds of medicines, so we don't guess. Note what you can see, add a photo if you like, and show the note to a pharmacist. Until then, don't take it, and keep it away from children.
If someone has swallowed it: call the AIIMS National Poisons Information Centre now, toll-free 1800 116 117 (24×7), or go to the nearest hospital and take the tablet or pack with you. Don't wait for symptoms, and don't try to treat them yourself. If they are drowsy, struggling to breathe or have collapsed, call 112.
The note stays on your device. It describes the tablet; it doesn't identify it.
Read a strip yourself
Where everything is printed.
Indian labelling rules put the same facts on every strip. The generic name must be printed at least two font sizes larger than the brand name, so look for the biggest words first.
- Rx and a red box mark a prescription medicine. The box says which schedule it falls under.
- Generic name and strength, the largest words, with the full composition under them. This is what to match against your prescription.
- Brand name, printed smaller than the generic name.
- Batch, Mfg. and Exp. A month-only expiry date means the end of that month.
- Manufacturing licence (M.L.) number, issued by the state drug regulator.
- Maker's name and address, and sometimes a separate “Marketed by”.
- MRP, the most you can be charged, for the pack size printed.
- QR code or barcode holding the same details. Some carry it on the carton instead.
- A vertical red line on antibiotics and some other strips: take it only on a doctor's prescription.
Rx, NRx and the red line
What the warnings on a strip mean.
The Drugs Rules, 1945 set these markings. The tool flags them when it can read them, but it can't see colours, so look for the red line yourself.
| On the strip | What it means |
|---|---|
| Rx + red box | Schedule H prescription medicine. Sold only on a registered doctor's prescription. |
| Schedule H1 | A stricter prescription list (some antibiotics, anti-TB and habit-forming medicines). The chemist must record each sale. |
| NRx | A prescription medicine that also falls under the NDPS Act (narcotic or psychotropic). |
| XRx | Schedule X: the most tightly controlled prescription medicines. |
| Red line | A vertical red line on antibiotics and some other strips: only on a doctor's advice. |
| QR / barcode | Product code, names, maker, batch, dates and licence number, for brands listed in Schedule H2. |
| Exp. 05/2028 | Use until the end of May 2028, if stored as the pack says. |
Side effect from a medicine? You can report it to the government's Pharmacovigilance Programme of India on toll-free 1800 180 3024 (weekdays, 9 am to 5.30 pm), or through its reporting page.
Why there's no colour-and-shape search
Other pill identifiers guess. We'd rather not.
US pill identifiers match the code stamped on each tablet against a database. That doesn't work for medicines sold in India, and a confident wrong answer about a tablet is worse than none.
No database to match
We found no public database of tablet imprints for India. The US government's own one, NLM Pillbox, was retired, and NLM said its files shouldn't be used to identify pills.
Lookalikes everywhere
Hundreds of brands are sold as plain white round tablets, and the same medicine looks different from one maker to the next. Colour and shape alone can't tell them apart.
The strip already says
Indian rules put the generic name, batch, expiry and maker on every strip, and listed brands must carry a QR code too. Reading that is far more reliable than guessing from the tablet.
Sources
- CDSCO, FAQs on G.S.R. 823(E): bar code or QR code on top 300 brands (July 2023).
- PIB, Steps taken to prevent sale of adulterated drugs (Rajya Sabha reply, August 2025).
- PIB, QR code traceability expanded to vaccines, antimicrobials and anti-cancer medicines (2026).
- CDSCO, The Drugs Rules, 1945: Rules 96 and 97 (labelling and warnings).
- CDSCO, Guidance for identification and verification of spurious drugs.
- US National Library of Medicine, Pillbox to be retired.
- AIIMS New Delhi, National Poisons Information Centre.
- Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, Pharmacovigilance Programme of India: report a side effect.
What is the Naked Compound Pill Identifier?
The Naked Compound Pill Identifier is a free tool that identifies a medicine from its strip, the way packs are labelled in India. It reads the QR code or barcode on the strip or carton, or the printed text, and shows the generic name, maker, batch, expiry and prescription warnings in one card. It never guesses a loose tablet from its colour or shape, and your photos stay on your device.
Can it tell me what a loose tablet is from its colour and shape?
No, and we think no website can do that safely for India. There is no public database of imprints for medicines sold here, and one white round tablet can look like hundreds of others. The tool makes a clear description note instead, so a pharmacist can identify it. Don't take a tablet you can't identify.
Do you see my photos?
No. The code and the text are read inside your browser and nothing is uploaded or stored. Close the tab and it's gone.
What is the QR code on my medicine strip?
Since 1 August 2023, the 300 brands listed in Schedule H2 of the Drugs Rules, 1945 must carry a QR code or barcode holding a unique product code, the generic and brand name, the maker's name and address, batch number, manufacturing and expiry dates and the manufacturing licence number. In 2026 the government added all vaccines, antimicrobials, anti-cancer drugs and NDPS-covered drugs to Schedule H2.
My strip has no QR code. Is it fake?
Not necessarily. The rule covers only brands listed in Schedule H2, and only batches made after the rule began, and the code may be on the carton instead of the strip. Read the printed strip instead, and ask your pharmacist if anything looks wrong.
The code opens a website. Is it safe?
Many codes link to the maker's verification page. The tool shows the address but never opens it for you. Check that it belongs to the company printed on the strip before you trust it, and never enter an OTP or payment details on it.
What do Rx, NRx, XRx and the red line mean?
Rx marks a Schedule H prescription medicine. NRx marks one that also falls under the NDPS Act, and XRx a Schedule X medicine. A vertical red line on antibiotic and some other strips also means: only take it on a doctor's prescription.
Is it free?
Yes. No account, no limit, and no ads inside the tool.