₹11 IV sold for ₹325: Tukaram Mundhe seeks Centre's intervention
What's the story
Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has urged the central government to intervene in the pricing of essential hospital consumables. The plea comes after a survey by the Maharashtra State Price Monitoring Resource Unit (MSPMRU) found massive markups on hospital items such as intravenous (IV) sets, syringes, nebulizer masks, and other medical devices. The survey revealed that an IV set costing ₹11 was sold for ₹325, a markup of over 2,800%.
Price disparities
Other medical devices also show massive markups
The team examined IV sets, syringes, nebuliser oxygen masks, and miscellaneous devices and found mark-ups of up to 29 times the procurement cost on essential inpatient medical devices.
A 10ml syringe, which costs ₹6.75, is sold for ₹57.20, a markup of 747%.
An IV cannula priced at ₹22.50 is sold for ₹424, nearly 19 times its procurement cost.
Similarly, a nebulizer mask that costs ₹40 is billed at ₹715, a markup of 1,687%.
Twitter Post
Check his post here
The most expensive part of a hospital bill may never touch the hospital at all.
— Tukaram Mundhe (@Tukaram_IndIAS) September 15, 2026
A patient admitted for care has no way of knowing whether the price on a medical consumable reflects its actual cost or a markup fixed long before it ever reached the ward. That gap in information…
FDA
'This steep escalation is completely irrational and unjustified'
Calling the price hike "irrational and unjustified," Mundhe has urged the Centre to review the pricing of commonly used hospital consumables.
"This steep escalation is completely irrational and unjustified, as the initial procurement cost already fully covers the manufacturer's total expenses, including production, product development, marketing, distribution, and profit margins," Mundhe wrote to the Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals.
"Because hospitalized patients critically require these non-negotiable surgical consumables during active treatment, they possess zero bargaining power in IPD settings."
Regulatory measures
Mundhe calls for strict price caps
Mundhe has called for these consumables to be brought under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO), 2013.
"Consequently, the lack of strict statutory price caps under DPCO 2013 allows unchecked trade-level profiteering, imposing an unnecessary, severe, and unjust financial burden on the public."
He said a review of the survey findings and guidelines specifying a permissible gap between trade procurement prices and declared MRPs has been recommended to the Department of Pharmaceuticals and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).