Trader's Body, CAIT, Urges The Indian Government To Put A Ban On Online Medicine Sales

On Thursday, 7- April-2022, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) wrote to the Indian commerce minister, Piyush Goyal & health minister Mansukh Mandaviya, seeking an absolute ban on selling and distributing healthcare drugs by online pharmacies in India, in compliance with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules. The body further demanded a penalty of at least Rs 1 Lakh on online medical stores like Netmeds, Pharmeasy, Tata1Mg, etc., in regard to the gross violation of Indian laws and the healthcare of Indians. 

The Drug and Cosmetics Act and Rules (DC Act & Rules) law oversees the import, export, manufacture & disposition of medicinal drugs across India. Recently, government initiated structured guidelines for online medicines segment. CAIT's national president BC Bhartia and secretary-general Praveen Khandelwal claimed that online pharmacies violate the DC Act and Rules and put the healthcare of millions of Indians at risk.

This move comes one day post Walmart group firm Flipkart's announcement of its new venture into the online pharmacy industry. Flipkart announced the launch of the Flipkart Health Plus App, meant to deliver medicines to about 20,000 pin code areas throughout India. The e-commerce giant plans to work with about 500 independent medicine providers under the guidance of registered pharmacists to ensure complete safety and accuracy in delivering medicines.

Furthermore, BC Bhartia and Praveen Khandelwal sought a complete prohibition on e-pharmacies to ensure zero violation of the Indian healthcare laws and avoid any case of harm caused by the sale of adulterated drugs. The CAIT also said that the predatory and lucrative schemes launched by these companies push the offline pharmacies into deep losses. 

The trader's body has urged the Government strongly to ensure that only registered pharmacies and certified, and registered pharmacists are responsible for the distribution of medical drugs across the country. This way, the need for online pharmacies is relinquished, and people's health is also not put at any kind of risk.