Parliamentary committee proposes 20% cap on medicines, medical device markups
India
A parliamentary committee is pushing to limit the price of medicines and medical devices so they can't be marked up more than 20% above what they cost to bring in.
This comes after seeing big markups, like a heart attack drug that lands at ₹18,000 but is sold for ₹50,000.
The panel says this step could make essential treatments much more affordable.
Committee urges device controls, local manufacturing
The committee also wants tighter control on pricey items like stents and dental materials, pointing out that earlier price caps brought stent costs way down.
They're encouraging more local manufacturing of things like pacemakers and PET scanners, plus suggesting subsidies and better quality checks so people can actually access these devices without shortages or black market issues.