Drug pricing authority mooted
The Department of Chemicals has proposed the setting up of an independent body to be called the ‘National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority’ (NPPA) to fix prices. This body will be in addition to the proposed National Drug Authority (NDA). In a note to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), the department has stated that the NPPA must be set up in order to provide transparency and objectivity to the process of price fixation and is to consist of experts. The body will also be entrusted with the task of updating the list of drugs under price control each year on the basis of the criteria established.
Beware the hot-shot!
For decades, women in the coastal villages of Andhra Pradesh have been using powder of capsicum in self-defence against attackers. Now, the powder has been encapsulated in a pistol-shaped canister for urban markets in India by Western Electroniks. The palm-sized canister is called CAP-STUN and has been tested successfully as a non-lethal weapon with a range of applications like immobilising attackers, crowd control and for extracting information from hardcore criminals, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the US… .
Foreign equity norms to be relaxed
The Indian Government is seriously considering doing away with the stipulation that foreign equity should cover the foreign exchange requirement for import of capital goods under the automatic approval category as part of ongoing liberalisation process. This has been conveyed by the Prime Minister, Mr P. V. Narasimha Rao, in the Government’s reply to the “Kohl memorandum”.