The Centre has refuted reports claiming a significant hike in medicine prices by up to 12 per cent from April 2024, terming them false, misleading, and malicious. According to an official statement, such reports are baseless and do not reflect the reality of the situation.
Under the provisions of the Drug Price Control Orders (DPCO) 2013, drugs are categorized as scheduled and non-scheduled formulations. Scheduled formulations, listed in Schedule I of the DPCO 2013, are essential medicines subject to price control.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) annually revises the ceiling prices of scheduled medicines based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI). In the calendar year 2023, the WPI change was negligible at 0.00551 percent, resulting in no change in the prevailing ceiling prices for 782 medicines until March 31, 2025.
A slight increase of one paisa applies to 54 medicines with ceiling prices ranging from ₹90 to ₹261, but it is optional for companies to implement this increase. Therefore, for the fiscal year 2024-25, there will be almost no change in the ceiling price of medicines based on WPI.
It’s important to note that the WPI increase represents the maximum permissible increase under the DPCO 2013, and companies may choose not to avail of this increase based on market dynamics. Manufacturers adjust their Maximum Retail Price (MRP) accordingly, ensuring that it remains below the ceiling price set by the government.
