Regulator plans setting up unit to monitor drug pricing compliance
NEWDELHI:THE drug pricing regulator — the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) — on Thursday held a conference with several state drug controllers to discuss setting up of a monitoring unit in their states to ensure pricing compliance by medicine manufacturers, according to a health ministry official.
The body, to be called Price Monitoring and Resource Unit (PMRU) , will also work to develop synergy between the central and state authorities.
“The idea is to establish a society to monitor due implementation of the regulations coming from NPPA. As of now the authority does not have adequate infrastructure, but with this the states will be empowered to ensure compliance,” said the health ministry official.
These units will provide technical assistance to state regulators. Their task will include monitoring the notified prices of medicines; price movement, collection and compilation of market-based data of scheduled and non-scheduled formulations, detection of violation of the provisions of Drug Price Control Order; pricing compliance; collecting test samples of medicines; conducting training, seminars and workshops at the state and district levels for consumer awareness.
The idea to have such an authority in place in the states has been lingering on for long.
A task force, created to look into the matter, in its 2005 report had also strongly recommended the setting up of a dedicated drug price monitoring cell in each of the major states.
The notification was issued by NPPA in 2015. However, only Kerala has set up a unit so far. LUCKNOW: Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer B Chandrakala, who has been accused of corruption in an illegal mining case in Uttar Pradesh dating back to 2012-16, finally broke her silence on Thursday, saying raids on her by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) were politically motivated.
CBI teams on Saturday raided 14 places in UP and Delhi, including the residence of Chandrakala in Lucknow, a Samajwadi Party (SP) member of the legislative council (MLC), mining department officials and red sand mining lease holders, in connection with mining irregularities in Bundelkhand. The alleged scam dates back to the years when SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was in power. “Political raids will continue but one should not let life go lacklustre,” Chandrakala, 38, former district magistrate of Hamipur, wrote in a statement posted on professional networking site Linkedin. “I request you all not to let your problems make your life unpleasant.”
The SP has said the timing of the raids was suspect and raised questions on the intentions of the government. Leaders of the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have been discussing an alliance in the Lok Sabha elections due this year that is seen as a potential threat to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in power at the Centre and in UP.
Chandrakala has been a social media favourite, thanks to the widely circulated videos of her conducting surprise inspections and scolding civic officials, whether it be over the poor quality of building materials or poor sanitation. On the mining scandal, she wrote: “The matter is in the court and the investigation agency is doing its work. I will put my stand in public domain at an appropriate time.” She has 8.6 million followers on Facebook and 30,000 Linkedin connections.
She has been on study leave since August; she has enrolled herself in an MBA programme at IIMT University in Meerut.
A CBI officer, who did not wish to be named, said Chandrakala would soon be summoned for questioning. Besides Chandrakala, the investigating agency has lodged FIRS against MLC, Ramesh Mishra, red sand mining lease holders as well as staff of the mining department in Hamirpur.
Investigators claimed that Chandrakala had granted mining leases bypassing the e-tendering procedure. They added that money was extorted from lease holders as well as drivers of vehicles transporting minerals.