Issue of high trade margins in essential medical devices

• Trade margin = difference between Price-to-Distributor (PTD) and Maximum Retail Price (MRP); for several medical devices it has historically run into hundreds — even thousands — of percent, pricing essentials out of reach of patients.
• National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) under the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers uses the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO, 2013) to cap ceiling prices and, in extraordinary circumstances, to cap trade margins under Para 19, DPCO 2013.
• Relevant to UPSC for GS-II (Health/Governance) and GS-III (Industry, Consumer Welfare) — intersects right-to-health, regulation of essential commodities, and the affordability vs. innovation debate.