A committee of parliament on Wednesday asked senior government officials to promote affordable and easily available medicines manufactured in the country. Sources gave this information. It said that the committee asked to stop the advice of using expensive medicines being offered by pharmaceutical companies and also to control their prices.
Sources said that in a meeting of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs, the members of the committee demanded to fix the maximum price limit of medicines of COVID-19. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Luv Aggarwal and other officials were present in the meeting of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs. The meeting was chaired by Congress leader Anand Sharma.
Sources in the committee said that rising above party sentiment, the members of the committee questioned why expensive medicines are often being recommended for treatment of COVID-19? Committee members expressed concern over the black marketing of medicines. The committee members took the name of three inexpensive and easily available medicines and asked why they are not being promoted even though these medicines are equally effective.
