Price Monitoring and Resource Unit
Also called: PMRU · Topic: Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-judicial Bodies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A Price Monitoring and Resource Unit (PMRU) is a small state-level unit that helps the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) check medicine prices on the ground. NPPA is the body that fixes and publishes drug prices under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO). A PMRU works with the State Drug Controller, the state officer who enforces drug rules. It is set up with NPPA's support. It collects market data, watches whether medicines are sold at the notified price and are available, and makes people aware of their rights on drug prices. It matters because NPPA works from Delhi and cannot watch every chemist and hospital. State units fill that gap.
Example
On 9 November 2026, revised prices came into force for 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs under Trade Margin Rationalisation (TMR), which caps the margin distributors and retailers can add. State Drug Controllers must report to NPPA by 16 November 2026 on what they have done. State-level price monitoring support of this kind helps check whether hospitals and chemists actually charge the lower MRP (Maximum Retail Price).
Don't confuse with
- NPPA: NPPA is the national authority. It fixes and publishes prices and starts overcharging proceedings. A PMRU only monitors and reports at the state level.
- Pharma Sahi Daam: this is NPPA's app and portal where citizens check prices and complain. It is a digital tool, not a state office.