Karnataka - Bangalore   

Uniform drug pricing from October 2

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: Uniform drug pricing will come into force in the country on October 2. But it will be sometime before the rule is actually implemented.

According to officials in the State Drugs Control Department, even though the Union Government's decision to bring in uniformity in drug pricing (which means that the maximum retail price, inclusive of taxes, will be printed on the medicine) is supposed to become operational from the first week of October, it will be applicable only to new stocks. "It will take at least two months for the regulation to come into force, as it is not applicable to the old stocks. Till the old stocks of medicines are exhausted the old rule will remain. It will be applicable only to the fresh stocks," an official said.

But there is good news for consumers. Not only will they be paying what is exactly printed on the drugs, they may not have to pay more than the earlier rates.

" Medicine rates will more or less remain the same," M.N. Ramamurthy, State Drugs Controller, told The Hindu.

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