Methodology

From HS code to molecule

Each row on the tracker corresponds to one bulk drug — an active pharmaceutical ingredient, key starting material, or intermediate — identified by one or more Harmonized System (HS) codes under which it is classified in Indian customs data. A single molecule sometimes trades under more than one HS code, for example where a salt form or a particular grade is classified separately from the base compound; where that happens, every code known to correspond to that molecule is listed on its tracker entry, and the reported import share is calculated across the combined set. Where an HS code covers more than one distinct molecule and cannot be cleanly split from public data, that limitation is noted directly on the affected molecule's detail page rather than silently folded into a single number.

How China's import share is calculated

The headline figure on each row is China's share of India's total imports of that molecule (by HS code) over the most recent period for which government trade data is available, generally a trailing twelve months unless otherwise noted. Where a single reliable source gives a precise figure, it is shown as a point estimate. Where the available sources disagree, or where only a partial-period or proxy figure exists, it is shown as a range rather than manufactured into a false point estimate. Trend direction (rising, falling, flat) compares the current period's share against the same period a year earlier, from the same source where possible.

What "Not known" means

Some fields on some rows show the literal text "Not known" rather than a number, a percentage, or a yes/no answer. This is a deliberate choice, not a placeholder for zero or a blank left by omission. It is used whenever a reliable figure genuinely could not be established from available public sources by the time the row was last reviewed — for example, where trade data is not broken down finely enough to isolate the molecule, or where no government or industry-body disclosure addresses the specific question (such as whether a given domestic capacity project has actually been commissioned, as opposed to merely announced). A row showing "Not known" today may show a figure once a better source is found; it is revisited, not permanent.

Revision policy

Every tracker row and every published brief carries a date. When a figure changes because better data becomes available — not because of a correction to an error, but simply because trade data updates over time — the row's date is updated and the old figure is not separately logged, in the same way a stock price updates without a changelog entry for every tick. When a figure or claim was wrong at the time it was published — a misread source, a transcription error, an outdated HS code mapping — it is corrected and logged publicly on the corrections page, with what was wrong, what it now says, and how the error was found. Corrections are never made silently.

Sources

The full, deduplicated list of sources currently cited across every tracker entry is below, generated directly from the same data file that drives the tracker itself — this list cannot drift out of sync with what is actually cited on each molecule's detail page.

• Placeholder — Dept. of Pharmaceuticals PLI list (example only)
• Placeholder — DGCIS import data (example only)