Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: With soaring inflation and rising prices of almost every commodity, here is some good news for consumers in India as they will now be able to buy essential medicines at nominal rates.
In a milestone decision, the Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, on Thursday, gave its approval to the final pharma pricing policy, which will bring 348 essential drugs under the government’s price control regime.
It implies that once essential medicines to cure diseases like caner, AIDS, TB and other deadly diseases are brought under this policy, it cannot be sold at a price higher than that fixed by the government.
At present, the government regulates prices of 74 medicines through a cost-based formula
The GoM has proposed to cap prices of these essential medicines at the weighted average price of drugs with a minimum of one percent market share.
The GoM will send its recommendations to the Cabinet within a week for approval. “The proposal will now go to the Cabinet which will take the final view,” Sharad Pawar told reporters in a meeting.
(With PTI inputs)
