Last Updated on December 31, 2023 by The Health Master
The National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority of India (NPPA) has said that it has successfully set up Price Monitoring and Resource Units (PMRUs) across 19 states in the country, in order to strengthen drug security and affordability.
The PMRUs, under the Central scheme Consumer Awareness, Publicity and Price Monitoring (CAPPM), are set up with an objective to monitor the prices of medicines, detection of violation, and ensuring availability of medicines.
These units are into collection and compilation of market based data and also to collect test samples of medicines. They are also into conducting training, seminars and workshops at the State and district levels for consumer awareness and publicity on various provisions of Drug Price Control Orders (DPCOs).
The Authority has said that it has set up PMRUs in 19 States and Union Territories till October 2021.
The PMRUs are expected to strengthen drug security and affordability at regional levels. The primary function of PMRUs is to assist NPPA in monitoring the prices of drugs, ensuring availability of drugs and raising consumer awareness.
They act as collaborating partners of NPPA with information gathering mechanisms at the grass-roots level. They will render necessary technical assistance to both the NPPA and the respective State Drug Controllers of states/Union Territories.
The states where the Units are set up include:
- Jammu and Kashmir,
- Punjab,
- Haryana,
- Uttar Pradesh,
- Rajasthan,
- Gujarat,
- Madhya Pradesh,
- Jharkhand,
- Chhattisgarh,
- Odisha,
- Maharashtra,
- Telangana,
- Andhra Pradesh,
- Goa,
- Karnataka,
- Andhra Pradesh,
- Kerala, Tripura,
- Nagaland and
- Mizoram.
However, in States like Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam are yet to see the units getting set up.
NPPA has plans to set up PMRUs in all the 36 States and Union Territories in the country, it said in 2020. The expenses of PMRUs, both recurring and non-recurring, are borne by NPPA under the Scheme.
The CAPPM scheme has two components – a national component that covers the expenditure for publicity through print and electronic media, organising seminars for consumer awareness, purchase of samples etc, while a state component is planned to set up PMRUs in the States.
PMRU is a registered society under the chairmanship of the State Drug Controller. The representatives of NPPA, State health department, civil societies and other stakeholders are members of PMRU, according to the Department of Pharmaceuticals.
The CAPPM scheme was approved by the Standing Finance Committee on October 29, 2015, and eventually it was decided in 2016 to implement the scheme in phases and the States to be covered are to be decided but the NPPA.
It has 11 states under the first category of 11 states with population of more than three per cent of the total population, second category consisting nine States with population less than three per cent, but more than one per cent of total population and third category of 16 States and Union Territories where the population is of less than one per cent of the total population. The modified scheme started implementation from the financial year 2018-19.
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