April 1, 2024: The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has issued a notice stating that prices of essential medicines will increase from today (April 1). The notice stated that the increase in the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of the scheduled formulations by 0.00551 per cent from the beginning of fiscal year 2024-25.

The list of essential medicines includes drugs like paracetamol, antibiotics such as azithromycin used to treat bacterial infections, anti-anaemia medicines, vitamins, and minerals. Some drugs used for treating moderately to severely ill Covid-19 patients and steroids are also on the list.

As per sources, this change will be in line with the change in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for the preceding calendar year of 2023 over the year 2022. Reportedly, the WPI movement during the year is significantly low as compared to the increase since the year 2017.