a fact check of the claims. The BJP government published an infographic on the 48-months portal that makes claimsabout affordable healthcare, specifically about essential medicines. Thisarticle is a fact check of the claims. Have some essential medicines been brought under price control? What have been the benefits? The first claim is that ‘1054 essential medicines brought under price control regime giving consumers total benefit of more than 10,000 crores’. The prices of drugs are controlled under the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 where drugs are referred to as per their definition in the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940. At present, the ceiling prices of medicines of various strength/dosageforms as declared by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and included inthe National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2015, are fixed by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority(NPPA), an independent body of experts under the Ministry of Chemicals& Fertilizers has the power, under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 DPCO, 2013, to fix the prices ofany drugs. However, the government does not maintain any information on acomparative basis with other countries. The Government notified the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy, 2012 (NPPP-2012) in December 2012 with an objective to put in place a regulatory frameworkfor pricing of drugs so as to ensure availability of required medicines oressential medicines at reasonableprices. Pursuant to the announcement of NationalPharmaceutical Pricing Policy, 2012 (NPPP, 2012), Government notified the DPCO2013 in May 2013. All the medicines specified in the National List of EssentialMedicines prepared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and revisedfrom time to time are included in the Schedule – I of DPCO, 2013 which areunder price control in accordance with provisions of DPCO 2013. As per para 17 of DPCO 2013, a decision toamend the first schedule (amendments to the list of essential medicines), canbe taken by the Government clearly stating the reasons within 60 days ofreceipt of communication from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Oncethe amendments are approved, these changes will be notified and the ceilingprices will be fixed within a period of 60 days from the date of notification. According to a response in Lok Sabha in July 2014, ‘all the medicines specified in the National List of Essential Medicines, 2011 (NLEM, 2011) have been included in Schedule 1 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO, 2013) which contains 348 drugs covering 680 formulations which also include some drugs for cancer and antibiotics. National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority(NPPA) has notified prices of 440 scheduled formulations up to June 2014. Significant reduction in prices have been effected on the medicines notified under DPCO, 2013 as compared to the highest price prevalent prior to that which differs from formulation to formulation’. As per a response in the Lok Sabha, theGovernment monitors the overall price situation on a regular basis and calibrates its policies on the basis of emergingdemand/supply position on an aggregate as well as disaggregate basis,particularly with a focus on essential commodities. Various representationsreceived on prices and policies relating to price control are dealt bydepartments concerned that deal with the subject matter. The Committee ofSecretaries (CoS) meets periodically and reviews the situation. Ministryof Health and Family Welfare has constituted an expert core committee to review and recommend the revision ofNational List of Essential Medicines (NLEM)-2011 in the context of contemporaryknowledge of use of therapeutic products. It should be noted that ‘the DPCO 2013 has provisions where prices of the Scheduled medicines are revised as per the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and also as and when the National List of Essential Medicines is revised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare or five years from the date of fixing the ceiling price whichever is earlier’. As per information shared by the governmentin the Lok Sabha, the fixation of ceiling prices/MRP is estimated to haveresulted in a total saving of Rs. 11,463 crores to the public afterimplementation of DPCO, 2013. Till June 2018, the Government has fixed the ceilingprices of 851 medicines (including 4 medicaldevices i.e. Cardiac stents, drug eluting stents, condoms and intra uterinedevices) under Revised Schedule – I based on National List of EssentialMedicines, 2015 (NLEM, 2015). Claim: 1054 essential medicines brought under price control regime giving consumers total benefit of more than 10,000 crores. Fact: As on June 2018, the government has fixed the ceiling prices of 851 medicines.