Government News

New maximum prices for 814 programmed formulations were made effective with the NPPA drug price regulator setting the limit in sync with the new GST regime. These formulations include drugs used to treat cancer, HIV, diabetes and infections, among others.

Patients can continue to buy essential drugs in the MRP before the GST, ie not at the highest prices, until the new lots reach pharmacies and stockists, and reach the shelves.

Medical devices that are declared as "drugs", such as stents, valves, orthopedic implants, syringes and tools for operations, will now have to declare their retail maximum price (MRP) and other details including that of the manufacturer and the importer.

Drug price regulator NPPA announced provisional maximum prices for 761 drugs, including anticancer drugs, HIV, diabetes and antibiotics, with a majority being reduced ahead of the GST implementation.

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Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) kill 40 million people each year, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases, tend to be long-lasting and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioral factors.

The Department of Pharmaceutical Products (DoP) has set up a GST facilitation center to enable pharmaceutical companies to successfully implement the new tax regime.

President Pranab Mukherjee lamented the lack of infrastructure and health personnel in the country, particularly in rural areas, and expressed hope that more investment would help bridge the gap.

The Center has asked the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to carry out a detailed study to assess whether there is any leaching of plastic bottles into the liquid medicine formulations stored in them.

The CSIR-Central Drugs Research Institute (CDRI) will inform Prime Minister Narendra Modi about three new drugs being developed by the Institute during its visit to the campus. Modi is also president of the Scientific and Industrial Research Council (CSIR) and this will be his first visit to any of his laboratories in the country. The institute is also organizing an exhibition to highlight the CDRI's contribution to the discovery and development of PM medications.

The health ministry is ready to deploy "Mission Parivar Vikas" in these districts to improve access to family planning services, raise awareness and make family planning options available. To achieve the goal of faster population control, the government has decided to accelerate family planning measures by identifying 146 districts where the total fertility rate (TFR, the number of children born per woman) is more than three, 28% of the population.

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