India · Advertising framework
Print advertising and advertorials for digital health products in India
General market orientation, not campaign clearance. Research scope and dates
Product and service rules
Use the MDR classification for the exact intended purpose
Regulator guidance
CDSCO’s device framework includes medical-purpose software and diagnostic products. Determine the applicable classification, licence or other requirements before advertising clinical functions. The current CDSCO index includes device-software guidance; a generic wellness label does not decide whether a diagnostic function is regulated.
Channel rules
Check the complete consumer-facing message
Regulator guidance
CCPA guidance addresses unsubstantiated claims, exaggerated promises and misleading advertisements and endorsements. Review the complete representation and its evidence, including claims made by an endorser. Disclosure or a disclaimer is not a substitute for the substantive conditions of a lawful advertisement.
Sources: Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements, 2022
Separate enactment from commencement
Legal requirement — paraphrased
As of 25 October 2026, do not describe the entire DPDP consent and data-fiduciary regime as operational. The Act notification commences institutional provisions on publication, section 6(9) and section 27(1)(d) after one year, and principal processing, consent, rights and duty provisions after eighteen months.
Rules 1, 2 and 17–21 commence on publication; rule 4 after one year; rules 3, 5–16, 22 and 23 after eighteen months. Read these periods with the December 2025 corrigendum and record the applicable date for the campaign. Phasing does not itself remove other applicable privacy, confidentiality or telecom obligations.
Sources: DPDP Act commencement GSR 843(E); DPDP Rules 2025; DPDP Rules corrigendum December 2025
Review at final printed size
Editorial recommendation
Approve the advertorial label, full layout and legibility at actual size. Check what must appear in the advertisement itself before moving details behind a QR code.
Campaign workflow
Digital Health Products: prepare the review
Editorial recommendation
Classify each software function separately: lifestyle, medical software or delivery of care. Link accuracy and clinical outcome claims to the advertised software version and population. Review tracking and marketing data flows separately from permission to provide care.
Keep a traceable campaign decision
Editorial recommendation
Keep one review record linking the offer, local market status, claim evidence, exact creative, media settings and any regulatory or professional clearance. Record who checked each condition. Reopen the review when the offer, claim, source rule or execution changes.
Pre-publication checklist
- Classify each software function separately: lifestyle, medical software or delivery of care.
- Link accuracy and clinical outcome claims to the advertised software version and population.
- Review tracking and marketing data flows separately from permission to provide care.
- Record product or provider eligibility before approving claims.
- Archive the final creative and its evidence, permissions and review decisions.
- Assign an owner for source updates, complaints and prompt withdrawal of inaccurate material.
Scope and unresolved questions
- Dental provisions and DPDP commencement phases have been added; the current NMC index points to the 2023 abeyance notification restoring the 2002 regime. State clinical establishment and pharmacy rules, AYUSH conduct, current Drugs Rules schedules and later FSSAI claim amendments remain incompletely verified. Check later Gazette amendments and actual product/registration details.
- This national baseline does not review every broadcaster rule, platform policy, regional licensing condition, promotion mechanic or data-transfer arrangement. No format-specific warning dimensions or durations should be inferred where none are supplied.
Research scope, introduction and dates
A digital-health offer promoted in print campaigns in India may combine a lifestyle function, medical software and a clinical service. Identify each advertised function and software version, then review clinical claims and the use of personal data separately.
Printed advertisements must work at their final physical size. Review the advertorial label, required information, images and multipage layout together, including what stays on the page when a QR code points readers elsewhere.
General market orientation, not legal, regulatory or medical advice, a complete compliance plan or clearance of an advertisement. Actual requirements depend on the specific offer and campaign.
How to use this national baseline
Editorial overview
This framework combines researched national rules with editorial review steps. Central advertising and health-product baseline; state licensing and profession-specific conditions need local review. A visible channel workflow does not establish that the selected product or service may be advertised there. Read the category restrictions first.
The review date identifies when the cited provisions or regulator excerpts were checked. It does not mean that every local rule, exception, professional standard or platform policy has been reviewed.
Sources
- CDSCO Medical Devices and Diagnostics
Targeted source review; apply the cited provision to the exact offer and check subsequent changes before launch.
- Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements, 2022
Targeted source review; apply the cited provision to the exact offer and check subsequent changes before launch.
- DPDP Act commencement GSR 843(E)
Follow-up review of the cited issue on 25 October 2026; scope and remaining conditions are recorded in the modules and review register.
- DPDP Rules 2025
Follow-up review of the cited issue on 25 October 2026; scope and remaining conditions are recorded in the modules and review register.
- DPDP Rules corrigendum December 2025
Follow-up review of the cited issue on 25 October 2026; scope and remaining conditions are recorded in the modules and review register.
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