The Government of India continues to enforce strict drug price regulations through the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO, 2013), resulting in substantial savings for patients, particularly for life-saving medicines. This information was provided by the Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on August 8, 2025.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is the key body responsible for regulating drug prices. The NPPA fixes ceiling prices for scheduled medicines listed in the First Schedule to DPCO, 2013. These ceiling prices are revised annually based on the Wholesale Price Index. All manufacturers, importers, and marketers are required to sell their products within these ceiling prices plus applicable local taxes.
Key Regulatory Highlights:
NPPA has fixed the ceiling prices for 930 scheduled formulations, including 131 anti-cancer, 11 anti-diabetic, and 66 cardiovascular formulations.
The average price reduction from fixing or refixing prices under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2022 was about 17%, leading to an estimated annual savings of approximately ₹3,788 crore for patients.
As of July 14, 2025, the retail prices of 3,482 new drugs have been fixed, with 1,924 of these falling into the anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, and cardiovascular categories.
The NPPA also regulates the prices of certain non-scheduled drugs. The maximum retail price (MRP) of 22 diabetic and 84 cardiovascular non-scheduled medicines has been capped, which is estimated to save patients around ₹350 crore annually. Additionally, trade margins for 42 non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines have been capped, reducing prices of 526 brands by an average of 50% and saving patients an estimated ₹984 crore per year.
Manufacturers of non-scheduled formulations are prohibited from increasing the MRP of their drugs by more than 10% over the preceding 12 months.
Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana and Overcharging Cases:
The government’s commitment to affordable healthcare is further demonstrated by the
Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana scheme.
- The scheme’s product basket offers 2,110 medicines and 315 surgical, medical consumables, and devices, covering all major therapeutic groups.
- As of June 30, 2025, 16,912 Jan Aushadhi Kendras (JAKs) have been established nationwide, including 1,432 JAKs in Tamil Nadu.
The NPPA has also been actively cracking down on overcharging. In the last five years (April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025), NPPA initiated 436 cases of overcharging and recovered ₹133.19 crore from the concerned companies.
The Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM) is responsible for evaluating and recommending drugs for inclusion in the NLEM, which forms the basis for price regulation. The SNCM’s recommendations are based on a careful assessment of a medicine’s safety, efficacy, availability, and affordability, and are updated periodically to reflect changing disease prevalence and treatment modalities.