Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Ram Vilas Paswan today said prices of as many as 295 medicines, by nine companies, have come down in line with the voluntary cut vowed by companies by restricting the trade margins from October this year.

Briefing the newsmen about the achievements of his Ministry for the last three years, he said the Government took the help of PSUs to study the impact of the voluntary price reduction offered by 11 companies. A survey from May 14, found that out of 886 medicines whose prices were to come down, 295 were available in Delhi at reduced prices. The companies had offered to restrict trade margins for generic medicines to 15 per cent for wholesalers and 35 per cent for retailers.

"Most of the companies have informed that availability of the medicines with reduced prices would depend on depletion of their old stocks with the distributors," he said. As per the earlier surveys in other Cities, around 260 medicines had lower prices.

He listed the steps on National Pharmaceutical Policy, introduction of MRP inclusive of all local taxes, printing of the same in two languages, decision to extend purchase preference in favour of PSUs by government hospitals and setting up of more NIPER-like institutions as some of the achievements of the UPA Government which is completing three years in rule.

The Minister explained the status of ailing public sector units in the pharma sector and claimed that the steps were on at different stages to revive Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd, Pune, Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Kolkota, Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd and Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

"The policy of the UPA government is to revive the public sector units set up for manufacturing of critical bulk drugs and in order to keep a check on prices of drugs, revival plans were approved," he said.