NEW DELHI: The Government on Wednesday expressed its ``helplessness'' on some aspects behind the rise in prices of drugs but promised to start improving the machinery for monitoring the prices, quality on the basis of reports by two committees. While one committee submitted its interim report, the other headed by a Prime Minister's Office official is expected to do so by the week-end, Union Minister for Chemicals & Petrochemicals Ram Vilas Paswan told Rajya Sabha at the end of a short duration discussion on Wednesday.

Taking cognisance of complaints from every section of the House during the discussion on steep rise in prices of drugs and their misuse, the Minister said the Government could not do anything about doctors prescribing drugs not really required by patients. ``How do we say what and how many medicines should be recommended by doctors''? He also admitted that his Ministry was helpless in independently verifying the cost of production and the retail price because Ministries handling this data declined to part with it. Besides, major private drug manufacturers raised a hue and cry whenever the Ministry attempted to impose controls.

The Government should consider emulating Rajasthan, which purchased drugs directly from manufacturers. As a result, the price at which drugs were available from the health services department of the Rajasthan Government at half the open market price, Mr. Paswan claimed.

The Minister felt some of the recommendations of the interim committee could arrest rising drug prices. The panel had recommended margin bands for producers, wholesalers and retailers. Mr. Paswan also dwelt on the various steps being taken by the Ministry to check prices and control quality. The Planning Commission's move to provide recurring annual grant of Rs. 150 crores for research and development would improve the situation of testing drug samples, he said.

Opening the discussion, Manoj Bhattacharya (RSP) wanted to know the reason for difference in prices of two drugs with the same generic formulation. Vayalar Ravi (Congress) described the Minister's initial statement on preventing the misuse of drugs as vague and demanded a stringent law to punish makers of spurious medicines. Balbir Punj (BJP) felt the present system for ensuring quality was ``ineffective'' and wanted more laboratories to ensure punishment for adulterators. Vanga Geetha (Telugu Desam) said the situation was ``alarming'' in talukas and states where the drug administration was weak.

M.S. Gill (Cong.) said he could not have accessed quality healthcare if he had not been the Chief Election Commissioner. ``I am not arrogant but I cannot wait for medicines at the Central Government Health Service outlets,'' he said. It was very well to encourage the small-scale sector but things had come to such a pass that medicines were being made in buckets in garages. He also wanted more laboratories, fully funded by the Central Government.

S. Narayanaswamy (Cong.) pressed for action on the basis of an interim report by a committee set up by the Ministry of Chemicals & Petrochemicals while Jairam Ramesh (Cong.) said the Centre and the States should stop passing the buck and set up a national level Foods and Drug Authority patterned on the U.S. institution by the same name. He was also sceptical about National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority fulfilling all the terms of its mandate.

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