NEW DELHI, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Patients across India saved around 15,000 crore Indian rupees (around 2.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the past couple of years, after the fixation of ceiling prices and maximum retail prices (MRPs) of essential and life-saving drugs.
According to Junior Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh L. Mandaviya, around 1 million Indians who suffered from heart ailments saved around 8,000 crore rupees (around 1.2 billion U.S. dollars) as the government fixed ceiling prices of coronary stents in February 2017, and re-fixation in February 2018.
Similarly, around 150,000 knee patients saved about 2,000 crore rupees (around 301 million U.S. dollars) since price fixation of knee implants in August 2017.
The government fixed ceiling prices and MRPs of essential and life-saving drugs under the initiative of ensuring "Affordable, Quality Medicines for All" as per estimates of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority.
Following the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure health security for all Indians, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has taken the step to set ceiling prices and MRPs of essential and life-saving drugs by implementing the Drug Prices Control Order, said the minister.
He added that the move had resulted in patients saving over 5,000 crore rupees (around 751 million U.S. dollars) since then which, according to him, was a big step in ensuring that no citizen suffered due to lack of affordable and good quality medicines in the country.
