Med banks to provide drugs at low cost
ALL INDIA INITIATIVE Druggists to eliminate profit margins to help needy
The idea is to start at least one such bank in every city of India. It will be done with the help of district administration. SURESH GUPTA, secretary, AIOCD
LUCKNOW: The All India Organisation of Chemist and Druggists (AIOCD) will start ‘medicine banks’ across the country that will provide medicines to needy patients at low price or even free of cost.
“The idea is to start at least one such bank in every city of India. It will be done with the help of the district administration,” said Suresh Gupta, general secretary of AIOCD.
“The initiative already has the support of over 8 lakh chemists across the country,” he said at the sixth convention of the UP Chemists and Druggists Federation (UPCDF) on Sunday. The chief guest of the event was deputy CM Dinesh Sharma.
“We call it medicine bank as needy patients will get medicine for free and others at low price because will eliminate all profit margins,” said Giriraj Rastogi and Suresh Kumar, office bearers of UPCDF. No date has been fixed to start these stores and the modalities are being worked out.
The AIOCD had helda meeting with three major organisations of drug manufacturers-- Organisation of pharmaceutical products of India, Indian Drug Manufacturing Association and Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance—and all had agreed to the idea, said Gupta. Vaccines, drugs for liver, cancer treatment and other diseases will be available at these banks. Other issues that were discussed during the convention were relaxation for deploying pharmacist at chemists’ stores, universal GST on medicine and adjustment of GST for return/ expired medicine.
“GST needs to be reviewed for medicine trade,” said Vikas Rastogi, spokesperson of UPCDF. “The GST on medicine is 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% that creates confusion, hence it is requested to be made one for all medicines,” said Suresh Gupta. Diwakar Singh, vice president of AIOCD, said pharmacists were required when medicines were given in mixtures but for tablet and syrups the doses were already written on the prescription.