Is Diclofenac banned in India?

Diclofenac is one of the most used painkillers in India, and it is also the subject of one of the country's best-known drug bans, which is why the question needs a two-part answer.

For humans, diclofenac is legal. Tablets, sustained-release forms, gels and single-dose injections such as Voveran and Volini are licensed and sold. No Section 26A notification restricts human use of the single ingredient.

For animals, it has been banned since 2006. Diclofenac residues in cattle carcasses caused kidney failure in vultures that fed on them, and three species declined by more than 95 per cent. The government prohibited veterinary diclofenac in 2006 and, in 2015, limited human injectable diclofenac to single-dose vials of 3 ml or less because larger vials were being diverted to livestock. The Delhi High Court has dealt with challenges to the vial rule. Ketoprofen and aceclofenac were added to the veterinary ban in 2023 and nimesulide in January 2025.

Some human combinations are banned. Diclofenac + tramadol + chlorzoxazone went in the September 2018 wave, and the 2 August 2024 list added paracetamol + diclofenac + caffeine, methocarbamol + diclofenac injection and diclofenac + thiocolchicoside injection.

The notification numbers for the 2006 and 2015 orders are not in our sources and are flagged for verification.