Abstract India is one of the countries with a very high prevalence of anemia in the world, affecting almost 75% of the Indian population. Iron supplements are the mainstay of therapy. They are also used for prophylaxis of iron deficiency anemia. There is an increasing concern over the large-scale availability of various iron supplements as fixed dose combinations with other vitamins/minerals/antioxidants as ‘over the counter’ agents, thereby escalating cost of treatment.