NPPA Slapped Rs 9,950 Cr Penalty On Pharma Firms, Recovered Only 14.25%
New Delhi: The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has initiated action in 2,605 cases of drug overpricing from 31st March 1979 to 31st March 2025, involving an overcharged amount, along with interest and penalty, totaling Rs 9,950.10 crore. Of this, the government has so far recovered Rs 1,418.80 crore (ie. 14.25 percent) from the pharmaceutical companies concerned, informed the Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Anupriya Patel, in a written reply during the recent Lok Sabha session.
Responding to a question raised by MPs Azad Kirti Jha, Chandra Prakash Choudhary, and Sanatan Pandey, Patel stated that the NPPA monitors medicine prices on an ongoing basis and acts wherever overcharging is found.
“The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) monitors the prices of medicines on an ongoing basis and wherever pharmaceutical companies are found to be overcharging the consumer in sale of medicine, it initiates action against such companies in accordance with the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013,” she said.
Providing a detailed account of enforcement, she added, “During the period from 31.3.1979 to 31.3.2025, NPPA has initiated action in 2,605 cases of overcharging, involving overcharged amount, along with interest and penalty thereon, of Rs 9,950.10 crore. During the said period, an amount of Rs 1,418.80 crore has been recovered from the companies concerned in these cases.”
The government clarified that NPPA does not maintain State-wise data of overcharging cases. However, the full list of companies and demand notices issued in such cases is available on the NPPA’s website at www.nppa.gov.in.
