By Sejal Gupta
India’s beauty and personal care industry has transitioned from a small-scale, largely informal sector to a multi-billion-dollar consumer market. According to a March 2025 report by GMI Research Pvt Ltd, a global market research and consulting firm, India’s cosmetic market was valued at around USD 16 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 27 billion by 2032, driven by rising disposable incomes, urbanisation, digital adoption and the expansion of e-commerce platforms.
India regulates cosmetics under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the Cosmetics Rules, 2020, with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and state authorities responsible for oversight, registration of certain imported products and market surveillance. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) establishes guidelines and standards for cosmetics under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, including specifications for ingredients and raw materials, as well as testing procedures for finished products.
Over the last five years, regulators have modernised rulebooks and online portals (CDSCO’s SUGAM), but the legal architecture remains largely reactive, focused on adulteration, misbranding and post-market action rather than preventive, risk-based surveillance.
The regulatory evolution
The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, were designed to tackle adulteration and misbranding in a limited domestic market. Enforcement was sporadic, often reactive, and heavily dependent on state drug controllers. Recognising the inadequacies, the government notified the Cosmetics Rules, 2020, which introduced clearer norms for labelling, registration (especially of imported cosmetics), good manufacturing practices (GMP) compliance, stricter penalties for misbranding, adulteration or unsafe ingredients, and definitions for what constitutes “cosmetic” versus “drug” under overlapping regimes.
The recent Cosmetics (Amendment) Rules, 2025, marked a further shift towards accountability. They mandate batch-wise testing, clarified labelling (for example, “use before” versus “expiry date”) and empower state authorities to suspend or cancel licences for persistent offenders. For the first time, the CDSCO also began publicly naming and shaming non-compliant brands in its “not of standard quality (NSQ)” alerts, signalling a tougher regulatory stance.
The designation of the Central Drugs Laboratory as the Central Cosmetics Laboratory added institutional capacity for product testing and appeals, while state drug controllers, such as Kerala, have stepped up enforcement through seizures, prosecutions and statewide inspection drives. Industry veterans have largely welcomed these moves as necessary to build credibility and protect consumers in a crowded, fast-growing market.
Regulatory gaps
Despite India’s updated cosmetics rules, enforcement capacity remains uneven and post-market surveillance remains the weakest link. In March 2025, CDSCO’s NSQ alert flagged several popular lipsticks, creams and hair oils for mercury contamination, microbial growth and pathogenic organisms. Around the same time, an independent study revealed the presence of “forever chemicals,” per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in cosmetics sold in India, echoing global alarm over their links to cancer, reproductive harm and environmental persistence.
These back-to-back findings underscore a critical truth: regulation has not kept pace with emerging risks.
State-level crackdowns further illustrate systemic weaknesses. Kerala’s 2023 “Operation Soundarya” uncovered lipsticks with mercury levels nearly 12,000 times the permissible limit and perfumes laced with 95 per cent methyl alcohol, products that had already reached consumers undetected.
In May 2025, Gujarat’s Food and Drugs Control Administration (FDCA) seized counterfeit cosmetics worth Rs. 71.5 lakh, many of which were marketed on social media without licences or proper labelling. Without structured post-market monitoring, regulators remain dependent on sporadic raids or media exposés instead of continuous, science-based data.
A major missing piece is cosmetovigilance. Surveys show that over 40 per cent of Indian women experience adverse reactions such as rashes or irritation, yet most are unaware of reporting channels, and dermatologists are not systematically integrated into monitoring frameworks.
Unlike the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), 2022, which mandates facility registration, ingredient disclosure and 15-day adverse event reporting, Indian law does not require companies to proactively share safety data or maintain adverse-event registries. Nor does India have a strategy comparable to the European Union’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, which is phasing out PFAS.
While the BIS provides specifications for raw materials and colourants, finished formulations are rarely tested for heavy metals, pathogens or contaminants.
In effect, India has modernised cosmetic laws but lacks the technical infrastructure, continuous surveillance and deterrent mechanisms needed to protect consumers in a rapidly expanding market.
Way forward
Building on the Cosmetics (Amendment) Rules, 2025, India should strengthen its preventive, science-based oversight by mandating batch-wise safety testing of finished products, expanding the newly established Central Cosmetics Laboratory and integrating a national cosmetovigilance system for real-time adverse-event reporting. Like the US FDA’s MoCRA (2022), India could mandate facility registration, proactive ingredient disclosure and 15-day adverse event reporting. Similarly, following the EU’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, India could phase out high-risk substances such as PFAS and mercury.
Coupled with stricter enforcement in online and informal markets, clearer labelling and phased restrictions on toxic substances, these measures would translate the 2025 amendments into effective consumer protection, while aligning India’s regulatory framework with international best practices. Striking the right balance between innovation and safety will determine whether India’s beauty boom becomes a model of consumer trust or a cautionary tale for unchecked growth.
(Sejal Gupta is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP), Hyderabad. CDPP is an independent research organisation working to influence public policy with focus on the development of vulnerable populations)
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