To promote public and animal health in India by bringing out authoritative and officially accepted standards for quality of drugs including active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients and dosage forms, used by health professionals, patients and consumers.

To promote the highest standards of drugs for use in human and animals within practical limits of the technologies available for manufacture and analysis.

• To develop comprehensive monographs for drugs to be included in the Indian Pharmacopoeia, including active pharmaceutical ingredients, pharmaceutical aids and dosage forms as well as medical devices and to keep them updated by revision on a regular basis.
• To develop monographs for herbal drugs, both raw drugs and extracts/formulations therefrom.
• To accord priority to monographs of drugs included in the National Essential Medicines List and their dosage forms.
• To take note of the different levels of sophistication in analytical testing/ instrumentation available while framing the monographs.
• To accelerate the process of preparation, certification and distribution of IP Reference Substances, including the related substances, impurities and degradation products.
• To collaborate with pharmacopoeias like the Ph Eur, BP, USP, JP, ChP and International Pharmacopoeia with a view to harmonizing with global standards.
• To review existing monographs periodically with a view to deleting obsolete ones and amending those requiring upgrading /revision.
• To organize educational programs and research activities for spreading and establishing awareness on the need and scope of quality standards for drugs and related articles /materials.
• To publish the National Formulary of India for updating medical practitioners and other healthcare professionals.
• To act as a National Coordination Centre for Pharma-covigilance Programme of India.