New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS): The Cabinet Wednesday approved the Pharmaceuticals Purchase Policy (PPP), for a period of five years aiming at ensuring optimum utilization of the installed capacity of the pharma Central Public Sector Entreprises, a government release said here.

The policy is made in respect of 103 medicines would be valid for a period of five years from the date of issue of orders by Department of Pharmaceuticals.

It said the pricing of the products would be done by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) using the cost-based formula, as mentioned in the Drugs Price Control Order, 95. A uniform discount of 16 percent would be extended to all products. All the taxes would have to be passed on to buyers.

Annual revision of prices would be linked to Wholesale Price Index as per provisions contained in Drugs Prices Control Order, 2013.

The last such policy was implemented in 2006 and was valid for five years.

The policy will be extended only to CPSEs under the administrative control of Department of Pharmaceuticals such as Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL), Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAL), Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Limited (BCPL), Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Limited (KAPL) and Rajasthan Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (RDPL) and their subsidiaries where Government of India owns 51 percent or above shares.