Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has responded to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s concerns about the prices of essential medicines.
The prices of essential medicines would increase by 11% from April due to the increase in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI). Mandaviya countered this claim by pointing out that the prices of essential medicines are linked to the WPI as per the Drug Prices Control Order 2013, which was implemented during the UPA government’s tenure.
Mandaviya also emphasized that the Jan Aushadhi mission, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, has created a competitive market, which has prevented pharma companies from increasing prices beyond the allowed ceiling based on the annual WPI.
He further mentioned that the price fixing exercise for 651 out of 870 formulations has been completed and the prices of these formulations have gone down by an average of 16%, which reflects the competitiveness in the market. The remaining formulations’ prices will also be fixed soon.
Overall, the government’s focus on creating a competitive market in the pharmaceutical industry through the Jan Aushadhi mission seems to be yielding positive results for consumers.
