Step 1: What is the NLEM?
The National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) is a list of medicines that satisfy the priority healthcare needs of the population. In India, NLEM is periodically revised and used as a key policy tool. The latest revision is NLEM 2025.
Step 2: What is price control in India?
The prices of essential medicines are regulated by the government to ensure affordability. This price control is enforced through a specific legal order.
Step 3: The basis for price control.
The NLEM serves as the basis for price control under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO 2013). Medicines included in the NLEM are called scheduled formulations and their prices are capped under DPCO 2013.
Step 4: Eliminate wrong options.
The Pharmacy Act, 1948 regulates the pharmacy profession, not drug prices. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 regulates drug quality and standards, not pricing. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 deals with consumer rights broadly but is not the specific instrument for drug price control.
Step 5: Confirm.
The Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 is the specific statutory instrument under which NLEM forms the basis for price control of medicines in India.
Answer: Option (3) — Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013