Essential drug prices stay flat this year, offering relief to consumers

This would come after the price hikes allowed (in line with the change in WPI) in the previous two years were 12.12 per cent (2023) and 10.7 per cent (2022) respectively

Consumers are in for a relief as prices of drugs in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) will remain flat in line with the change in the wholesale price index (WPI) this year.

In a notification issued on Wednesday, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said the annual change in WPI worked out to be 0.005 per cent during the calendar year 2023 over the corresponding period in 2022. According to Para 16(2) of the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) 2013, the manufacturers may increase the maximum retail price (MRP) of scheduled drugs on the basis of this WPI,