No increase effected by govt in medicine prices: Mansukh Mandaviya

Allaying concerns about any increase in prices of medicines, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said the government has not effected any hike and only a few essential drugs that are linked to the wholesale price index and are as such priced very low may see some automatic rise or fall as per inflation trends.

"There are some essential medicines linked to WPI that can see rise or fall automatically as per the WPI movement. These are drugs that are priced a few rupees and therefore, a 10 per cent WPI increase may lead to the price rising by a few paise," Mandaviya said.

The government has no role in the price of these medicines and it has not effected any increase in prices and it has no plans to do so, he said.

The prices of these medicines also automatically decline when WPI falls, Mandaviya told reporters here.

The concerns have been raised in some quarters after the drug pricing authority NPPA recently allowed a price hike for scheduled drugs, which are under price control under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), with effect from April.

These drugs include paracetamol, antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections, anti-anaemia, vitamins and minerals.