Scheduled and non-scheduled drugs
Also called: Scheduled drugs, Non-scheduled drugs · Topic: Markets, Equilibrium and Government Intervention · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
India sorts medicines into two groups for price control under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO), 2013. The Centre issues this order under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and the NPPA (National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, set up in 1997) enforces it.
Scheduled drugs are the medicines on the NLEM (National List of Essential Medicines). They are placed in Schedule-I of DPCO. For each one, NPPA fixes a ceiling price, which is the highest price any company may charge.
Non-scheduled drugs are all other medicines. The company sets their price itself. The only limit is that it cannot raise the MRP (Maximum Retail Price, the highest price printed on the pack) by more than 10% in 12 months.
This split shows how the state caps prices of essential medicines for poor patients while leaving the rest of the market mostly free.
Example
A medicine on NLEM 2022 must be sold at or below its NPPA ceiling price, whichever brand you buy. A costly anti-cancer injection that is not on the NLEM is non-scheduled. Its company sets the MRP and only has to keep yearly price increases within 10%. If such prices become too high, NPPA can step in with a special public-interest order, such as a cap on trade margins.
Don't confuse with
- Schedule H drugs: this is a different list under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules. It controls who can sell a medicine: these drugs need a doctor's prescription. "Scheduled" under DPCO is about price, not prescription.