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Informist, Monday, Jul. 6, 2026

By  Gunjan Rajput 

 

NEW DELHI – The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists on Monday urged the government to revise trade margins for wholesalers and retailers and allow pharmacists to substitute prescribed brands with lower-priced alternatives containing the same salt. At a meeting with Department of Pharmaceuticals Secretary Manoj Joshi, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority Chairman P. Krishnamurthy, and other senior officials, the association said the measures are needed to help brick-and-mortar pharmacies compete with the deep discounting by online pharmacies and quick-commerce platforms.

 

At the meeting, the association also sought a review of the Drugs Prices Control framework, arguing that the existing trade margins of 8% for wholesalers and 16% for retailers no longer reflect current operating costs. The association said more than 1.24 million chemists and druggists across the country are under increasing pressure due to aggressive pricing practices by online pharmacies.
 

"The deep discounting has to stop, and the trade margins of wholesalers and retailers need to be increased," the association's president, Jagannath Shinde, told Informist. Shinde said the association had also asked the government to allow pharmacists to substitute a prescribed brand with another brand containing the same active ingredient.
 

Under the current system, chemists must dispense the exact brand prescribed by the doctor and cannot offer an alternative brand even if it contains the same salt and is available at a lower price, he said. "If brand substitution is allowed, pharmacists can dispense another brand with the same salt that is available at a lower price. This will enable patients to buy medicines at lower prices while allowing chemists to protect their margins," Shinde said. He said the inability to substitute brands prevents brick-and-mortar pharmacies from matching discounts offered by online platforms because medicine prices and trade margins are regulated.
 

In a note to Informist, the association's General Secretary Rajiv Singhal said the organisation had highlighted to the government that predatory pricing and irrational market practices were severely affecting the livelihoods of over 1.24 million chemists and druggists. The association also expressed concern about the growing presence of large corporate-backed online pharmacies and quick-commerce companies, saying prolonged capital-funded discounting could eventually lead to market concentration and hurt both traditional pharmacies and consumers.
 

The association further alleged that online pharmacies and quick-commerce platforms were expanding through unsustainable pricing strategies, raising concerns about prescription verification and compliance with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. "The Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, and the Chairman, NPPA (National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority), listened attentively to the concerns raised by the delegation and assured AIOCD (All India Organisation of Chemists & Druggists) that these important issues would receive due consideration while formulating future policy initiatives and regulatory reforms in the pharmaceutical sector," the note said.

Monday's meeting follows the association's meeting with Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda in Bilaspur on May 29, at which the association had raised similar concerns regarding online pharmacies and the financial viability of brick-and-mortar chemists. The latest representation also comes after an All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists nationwide strike on May 20, in which the organisation said over 1.24 million chemists participated to protest the rapid expansion of e-pharmacies and quick-commerce medicine delivery platforms.  End

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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