UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — India’s essential medicine list lags behind global benchmark; unrevised in 4 years

Q1. Since the first National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) was released in 1996, how many times had it been revised as of 2025?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Five

Q2. With reference to the NLEM, the following are listed as years in which the list was revised. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. 2003
  2. 2011
  3. 2018
  4. 2022
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 3 and 4

Q3. In the context of NLEM-linked price regulation, the 'ceiling price' fixed by the NPPA under the DPCO, 2013 refers to which one of the following?

  • A. The maximum price at which a scheduled formulation may be sold, above which a manufacturer cannot price it
  • B. A guaranteed minimum price assured to manufacturers of essential medicines
  • C. A uniform retail price applicable to all non-scheduled (non-NLEM) medicines
  • D. An annual cap on the total pharmaceutical subsidy provided by the government

Q4. In NLEM 2022, individual medicines are tagged as 'P', 'S' and 'T'. These tags denote which one of the following?

  • A. The level of the healthcare system — Primary, Secondary or Tertiary — at which the medicine is intended to be used
  • B. The patent status of the medicine — Patented, Semi-generic or True-generic
  • C. The price band — Premium, Standard or Trade — under which the drug is capped
  • D. The procurement priority — Preferred, Standard or Tail-end — for government tenders

Q5. With reference to NLEM 2022, consider the following statements. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It contains 384 medicines.
  2. The medicines are grouped under 27 therapeutic categories.
  3. It was notified as operational in September 2022.
  4. It derives standalone statutory backing directly from the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 4 only
  • C. 2 and 3
  • D. 3 and 4

Q6. As of 2025, which one of the following essential-medicines lists contains the largest number of listed medicines?

  • A. The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (24th list, 2025)
  • B. India's NLEM 2022
  • C. The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (EMLc, 2025)
  • D. India's NLEM 2015

Q7. The 24th WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (2025) was adopted following the recommendations of which one of the following?

  • A. The 25th meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines
  • B. The 24th meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines
  • C. The World Health Assembly held in 2025
  • D. The WHO Executive Board's standing committee on medicines

Q8. The revision of the National List of Essential Medicines — pressed for by civil-society groups in 2025-26 — falls squarely within the mandate of which one of the following?

  • A. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, acting through the Standing National Committee on Medicines
  • B. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority alone, which exclusively decides every inclusion
  • C. The Department of Pharmaceuticals, which solely notifies each revised list
  • D. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, which entirely controls the list's content

Q9. The following medicines are cited as new additions to the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines by the 25th Expert Committee (2025). Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Semaglutide
  2. Pembrolizumab
  3. Tirzepatide
  4. Metformin
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 4 only
  • C. 3 and 4
  • D. 2 only

Q10. Consider the following pairings of bodies/lists with their roles. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM) — constituted in 2018 to revise the NLEM.
  2. National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) — fixes ceiling prices of scheduled NLEM drugs under the DPCO.
  3. WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines — updates the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines.
  4. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare — the statutory authority that fixes the retail prices of essential drugs.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4