8 in 10 Medicines Escape Price Caps. Parliament Wants Answers
What Happened
A Parliamentary Standing Committee has flagged that around 82% of medicines sold in India are outside direct government price control. Only medicines listed in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) fall under NPPA-regulated pricing, accounting for roughly 18% of the pharmaceutical market. The panel warned that drug makers can set the initial prices of non-scheduled medicines themselves, with regulators only monitoring later annual price increases.
Key Takeaways
India is often called the "pharmacy of the world," but Parliament says millions of patients may still be exposed to high medicine prices because most drugs remain outside direct price regulation.