Essential Medicines to get costlier from April 1 in India, Know details about the price hike
The price of essential medicines will be increasing in India from April 1, stated a notice issued by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). If reports by BloombergQuint are to be believed there will be a hike of more than 12 percent from April 1.
Price hike will be implemented on some essential medicines including painkillers, antibiotics as well as anti-infectives. The notice by NPPA mentioned that manufacturers can increase the MRP on scheduled formulations based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI). This does not need prior approval from the Government. The prices of medicines were hiked by 12 percent in 2023 and 10 percent in 2022.
As the new pricing is implemented, there are 800 drugs that will get affected. The drugs include paracetamol, azithromycin, vitamins, minerals, steroids as well as drugs to treat COVID-19 infection.
The medicines that receive a price hike include Amoxicillin, Cefadroxil, Cetirizine, Dexamethasone, Fluconazole, Amphotericin B, Benzoyl peroxide, Folic Acid, Heparin, Ibuprofen etc.
Ms Kalinga