A total of 5,772 complaints alleging overcharging were received by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) under the Department of Pharmaceuticals over the five year period from 2018-19 to 2022-23, according to information shared by Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, of Health and Family Welfare, in the Rajya Sabha, on Tuesday. The Minister was responding to a question asked by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MP M. Thambidurai on price capping of, and overcharging in, essential drugs.
In response, the Minister also noted that the NPPA, a regulatory body under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, monitors the prices of scheduled as well as non-scheduled medicines under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO), 2013 and acts against companies found to be overcharging consumers based on the references received from Price Monitoring Resource Units (PMRU), the State Drugs Controllers, etc.
Additionally, the NPPA has a helpline (1800-111-255) and email ([email protected]) on which complaints regarding shortage and overcharging for drugs are received from consumers across the country.
