Govt's generic push will dent Rs 90,000-cr branded pharma market

To make medicines cheaper, in another measure, govt added 200 drug formulations to NLEM list

Pharma companies may soon start wooing chemists as the Narendra Modi government plans to make it mandatory for doctors to prescribe pure-generic drugs, instead of branded generics as they do now.

Though the plan was first announced in this year’s Budget, the prime minister spoke about it for the first time at a public event on Monday. The health ministry has now started working on amending the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to this effect.

“Indian patients may face quality issues without price benefit as intense competition among marketers will lead to incentivising a chemist,” says D G Shah, secretary-general of the Indian