Punjab has a dense network of towns, clinics, nursing homes and chemists, connected by good roads to the pharma companies of the Chandigarh region. For someone starting a PCD pharma franchise or a distribution business, that combination makes it a practical state to build in, whether in the larger cities or the district towns around them.
This guide covers what is specific to starting in Punjab: the licensing authority, the steps to a wholesale licence, how to choose your area, and how supply from the Chandigarh region works.
Who issues the licence in Punjab
To buy medicines from a PCD company and sell them to chemists, clinics and hospitals, you need a wholesale drug licence. In Punjab, it is issued by the Food and Drug Administration, Punjab (Drugs Control wing). For most allopathic medicines this means the wholesale licences in Forms 20B and 21B under the Drugs Rules, 1945, plus GST registration for your business.
Note that Chandigarh is a Union Territory with its own drug licensing office, separate from Punjab. If your premises are in Chandigarh, you apply there; if they are in Mohali, Zirakpur or elsewhere in Punjab, you apply to the Punjab authority.
The steps
- Choose your area and premises. The licence is issued for specific premises, so decide where you will work before you apply.
- Prepare the premises. Clean, dry storage with racks, and a refrigerator if you will stock cold-chain products.
- Arrange a competent person who meets the qualification rules, if you do not qualify yourself.
- Apply to the Punjab authority with the documents it asks for, and pay the fees. Check the current process, documents and fees with the authority before you apply.
- Inspection and licence. After the licence is issued, register for GST if you have not already, and then choose your PCD company.
Our post on the documents required for a PCD pharma franchise lists what applications usually ask for.
Choosing your area in Punjab
Start with a district you know well and can cover every week: the doctors, nursing homes and chemists in it, and the market towns around it you can reach in a day. A smaller area you visit regularly usually grows faster than a large one you visit once a month.
Ancare has city pages for several Punjab cities, each with the distance from our Panchkula office, the product ranges and the local licensing details:
| City | District | Approx. road distance from Panchkula |
|---|---|---|
| Zirakpur | SAS Nagar | 13 km |
| Mohali | SAS Nagar | 17 km |
| Patiala | Patiala | 70 km |
| Ludhiana | Ludhiana | 110 km |
| Jalandhar | Jalandhar | 150 km |
| Amritsar | Amritsar | 230 km |
Choosing ranges
Spend a few days asking chemists which therapy areas move fastest and which specialists practise nearby. Areas with large general practices usually start with antibiotic, gastro and pain-management ranges; areas near larger hospitals may add cardiac, diabetic and neuro products. Most partners begin with three or four ranges they can explain well.
Supply from the Chandigarh region
Many PCD companies, including Ancare, are based in and around Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. For partners in Punjab that means:
- shorter transport distances than from companies further away;
- the option, for nearby districts, of visiting the company to see the range;
- dispatch by road transport or courier, with the method and expected time confirmed for each order.
Agree the terms in writing before your first order: territory, price list, payment, dispatch and the expiry and breakage policy. Our guide on how to start a PCD pharma franchise covers each step, and what a PCD pharma franchise costs helps you plan the budget.
Working across Punjab’s cities and district towns
Punjab’s larger cities, such as Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala, have many hospitals, specialists and chemists, and correspondingly many companies competing for them. District towns and the market towns around them often have fewer competing partners, and doctors who see a steady flow of patients from the surrounding villages. Many partners start in the town they know best and add a nearby city once their visits and supply are settled.
If your territory crosses into Chandigarh, remember that it is licensed separately: your Punjab licence covers premises in Punjab, and supplying customers is different from holding stock there. Ask the authority if you are unsure.
Your first three months in Punjab
- Month 1: licences and groundwork. While your application is processed, visit the doctors and chemists in your chosen area, note which therapy areas they write most, and compare PCD companies on products, terms and dispatch.
- Month 2: first order and first visits. Once the licence is issued, place a modest first order across three or four ranges, and begin regular doctor and chemist visits with the company’s promotional material.
- Month 3: follow up and adjust. Check which products chemists reorder, which doctors are writing your products, and which products have not moved. Reorder the fast movers and rethink the slow ones.
Partners close to the company (in Mohali and Zirakpur, for example) can often visit to see the range before ordering, which makes the first order easier to plan.
Common mistakes when starting out
- Starting before the licence is issued. Do not take stock or orders until the licence is in hand.
- Taking on too large an area. A district you can visit every week is worth more than a region you cover once a month.
- Ordering too much at the start. Build stock as prescriptions grow, not before.
- Agreeing terms verbally. Territory, prices, payment, dispatch and the expiry and breakage policy should all be written down.
- Neglecting chemists. Doctors write the prescriptions, but chemists decide whose stock is on the shelf.
Working with Ancare Life Sciences
Ancare Life Sciences, Panchkula, works with PCD franchise partners across India, including Punjab. Territory, the price list and terms are agreed for your area and confirmed in writing. See all our franchise locations, read how our PCD pharma franchise works, or contact us with your district.