After the hike in the prices of petrol and diesel, now life-saving drugs will see a surge in prices from April 1. On March 25, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority of India announced that the wholesale price index will see a change of 10.7 percent for the calendar year 2021 which meant a price hike in medicines beginning April 1, 2022.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the country's drug pricing authority Friday stated in an order, "Based on the WPI data provided by the office of the Economic Advisor, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the annual change in WPI works out as 10.76607% during the calendar year 2021 over the corresponding period in 2020."
The medicines whose prices have been announced to increase are counted in the category of essential medicines. Atleast 800 scheduled medicines will see a price surge. These include antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, ear-nose and throat medications, antiseptics, pain killers, gastrointestinal medicines, and anti-fungal drugs.
From where to get medicine at a reasonable price:
- Some medical stores give 15% to 20% discount, so choose a shop that gives you more discount.
- There are many websites online like 1mg, NetMeds, PharmEasy, etc. You can buy online.
- You can get cheap medicine from a government hospital.
- There are two types of medicines in the medical store, one is branded medicine and there is a generic medicine, then you can take the generic medicine.
- The government has opened Jan Aushadhi Kendras in every district for cheap medicine, so that you can get cheap medicine.