Haryana Govt keeping strict watch on medicine prices in public interest: Health Minister

Haryana Health Minister Arti Singh Rao said the state government was committed to ensure availability of affordable and essential medicines for the general public. “With this objective, strict monitoring of medicine prices is done in Haryana to effectively curb overcharging at any level,” she said.

The Health Minister said, “Under guidelines of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the Price Monitoring and Resource Unit (PMRU) is actively functioning in Haryana under the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Department. This unit is ensuring that medicines are available for citizens only at rates fixed by the government.”

She said, “The objective of the Haryana Government is to ensure that life-saving medicines are available for every citizen at reasonable and regulated prices. All these measures are being taken keeping in view Haryana residents health and welfare.”

Manoj Kumar, Commissioner, Food and Drugs Administration, said during the year 2025, 33 cases of overcharging of medicines were reported in Haryana, which were sent to the NPPA, New Delhi, for necessary action. “This reflects the state government’s strict and transparent policy, under which no compromise will be made with the public health,” he said.

He further informed that in December 2025, the Haryana PMRU detected violations of the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) in three medicines, wherein the MRP printed on packs was found to be higher than the prescribed rate. Action as per rules was initiated against companies concerned in these cases, he said.

Kumar said along with enforcement, the government was also focusing on public awareness. During the year 2025, 13 information, education and communication (IEC) programmes were organised across various districts of the state, he said. In December, awareness programmes were conducted by the PMRU drug control officers and field investigators in Kaithal, Yamunanagar, and Sirsa. Through these programmes, chemists and the general public were made aware about maintaining medicine quality, cold chain management, proper record-keeping, and installation of the CCTV cameras at chemist shops.

The Commissioner appealed to the general public to remain vigilant and use the “Pharma Sahi Daam” mobile application to check the correct prices of medicines.

“In case of overcharging, complaints can be directly sent to the government. Citizens can also register their complaints on the Haryana PMRU toll-free number 1800-180-2413,” he said.

Lalit Kumar Goel, State Drugs Controller-cum-Member Secretary, PMRU, FDA, Haryana, said, “The Price Monitoring and Resource Unit is functioning under the Food and Drugs Administration Department of the state. The governing committee of this unit is chaired by Additional Chief Secretary, Health Department, while the executive committee is chaired by Manoj Kumar, Commissioner, FDA, Haryana.”