Free trade agreement has been announced between India and European Union (EU). This is going to be of big benefit in the pharma sector also. Tax of up to 11% on pharmaceuticals has mostly been abolished. Experts say that this will make medicines cheaper. However, this effect will be seen gradually and on selected medicines. But medicines will definitely be cheaper. In such a situation, it is important to know how this trade agreement will make medicines cheaper and which people will benefit more.
Will all medicines be affordable?
Regarding this, Dr. Ajay Rao in the Department of Medicine at Lady Hardinge Medical College. It is said that there are already many companies dealing with common diseases in India. Whose medicines rarely come from outside. Like medicines for common fever, pain, or sugar are made in India only. These do not come much from Europe, so there will not be much change in the prices of such medicines. There is also a big market for generic medicines in India, but there are many medicines which have come from EU, so the medicines which EU They are imported directly from India, their price can be much lower.
According to Dr. Rao, this deal can bring relief especially for those patients who are suffering from cancer, heart disease and rare diseases. Because medicines for these diseases are expensive and many high quality medicines currently come from Europe only, whose prices are very high.
Will there be benefit from the equipment being cheap?
Dr. Rao says that if medical equipment will be cheap, the total cost of treatment will also be less. Many big hospitals which bring equipment from Europe will get it cheaper. Its benefit will be in the convenience of investigation. It is possible that the price of tests in which cheap equipment will be used may also be reduced. With this, patients will spend less money on testing.
What will happen if 11% tax ends?
The prices of medicines which India imports from EU become higher due to tax on them. To recover this price, companies add this price to MRP. With the abolition of this tax the cost of medicines will reduce. Understand it like this, the medicines being imported now cost Rs 100 and 11 percent tax is levied on it. Due to this the price of the medicine becomes Rs 111. But if it becomes 0 then the price of the medicine will remain 100. People will directly benefit from this.