The fourth meeting of Group of Ministers (GoM) on national pharma policy will be held on April 30. The GoM, which has already taken the views of most of the stake-holders including the industry associations, is expected to take some crucial decisions in the April 30 meeting.

With the central government providing several soaps to the pharma industry including reduction of excise duty in the last Union budget, the cynosure of all eyes will now be on the crucial issue of price control. Sources said that even though his ministerial colleagues are not fully subscribing to the view of bringing in 354 essential medicines under Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), Chemicals minister Ramvilas Paswan will go the whole hog to impress the GoM about the need to make medicines within the reach of the common man of the country.

Sources said that Paswan will cite the common minimum programme (CMP) of the Congress-led government, under which the coalition government was formed in 2004 at the Centre. Among several other pro-poor measures, the CMP promises cheaper medicines affordable to the common people of the country.

Unlike the third meeting held on January 31 this year, which did not make any headway towards the finalisation of the policy, the next GoM may come to some conclusions on the policy as there is immense political pressure to take a final call on the issue. Besides, it is nearing one and half years since the 7-member GoM under Union Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar was constituted by the Prime Minister on January 11, 2007 to settle the issue to the satisfaction of all the stakeholders.

The GoM had its first meeting on April 10 last year which was a formal sitting to introduce the subject. The GoM on national pharmaceutical policy had its second meeting on September 12 in which the GoM had invited all the major pharmaceutical associations including IPA, IDMA and the CIPI to air their views on the policy.

In the third meeting, the 7-member GoM sat through the presentation by the Chemicals department carrying the details of an NPPA survey to press its stand on expanding the scope for price control.