India’s NPPA Revised Ceiling Prices of Scheduled Medicines from 1 April 2026

The Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO 2013) is India’s principal instrument for controlling medicine prices. It requires the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) to fix ceiling prices for scheduled formulations, which are the medicines included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) and listed in the First Schedule to the Order. Ceiling prices are revised every year on 1 April in line with the change in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for the previous calendar year.

For 2026, the NPPA applied a WPI change of 0.64956% for calendar year 2025 over 2024. Secondary legal analyses identify the governing gazette notification as S.O. 1581(E), dated 25 March 2026, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary. The revised ceiling prices took effect on 1 April 2026. Ceiling prices are exclusive of goods and services tax (GST).

The NPPA operates under the Department of Pharmaceuticals and is responsible for fixing and revising the prices of controlled medicines under DPCO 2013. The annual WPI revision is one of its routine functions, alongside product-specific price fixations issued during the year.

Reports of the revision refer to different numbers of formulations because the NPPA issues separate notifications for medicines priced under successive editions of the NLEM. Regulatory update services list notifications covering 767 scheduled formulations under NLEM 2022, 138 scheduled formulations under NLEM 2015 and 6 scheduled formulations under NLEM 2011, each revised on the basis of the WPI. The exact list of products and prices should be taken from the NPPA’s official notifications.

Specific revisions illustrate how the mechanism works. For example, the NPPA set a revised ceiling price of 470 rupees per bag for certain piperacillin and tazobactam injection formulations, reflecting the 0.64956% WPI increase and effective from 1 April 2026. Commentators note that, in practice, the annual WPI revision allows maximum retail prices of scheduled medicines to rise by roughly 0.65% this year.

Under paragraph 16(2) of DPCO 2013, manufacturers may increase the maximum retail price (MRP) of scheduled formulations in line with the annual WPI change without seeking prior approval from the Government. The increase in the price of a scheduled medicine cannot exceed the WPI change, so companies whose MRP is already at or near the ceiling are limited to the 0.64956% adjustment.

Medicines outside the schedule are treated differently. Secondary sources note that non-scheduled formulations are not subject to a ceiling price but are limited to a maximum price increase of 10% in any 12-month period. Companies therefore need to know whether each of their products, and each strength and dosage form, is scheduled before setting prices.

The annual WPI mechanism means that ceiling prices move automatically with the general price level rather than through product-by-product negotiation. In years of high wholesale inflation the permitted increase can be substantial, while in 2026 it was well under one per cent. Companies therefore cannot rely on the annual revision to offset rising input costs in years of low inflation, and pricing strategies for essential medicines in India need to take this into account.

Manufacturers and marketers of scheduled formulations should check the revised ceiling price applicable to each product, confirm that their MRP, plus GST, does not exceed it, and update price lists and packaging accordingly. Where a company chooses to raise its MRP under the WPI provision, the increase should not exceed the notified change, and records should support the calculation.

Because the 2025 WPI change was small, the 2026 revision has a limited effect on prices, but it remains a compliance requirement. Pricing and regulatory teams should also monitor any revision of the NLEM, since additions to the list bring further medicines under ceiling price control, and should follow NPPA notifications for product-specific price fixations, which are issued throughout the year.

Medical writers and regulatory staff can support compliance by keeping product master data, including strength, dosage form and pack size, aligned with the descriptions used in NPPA notifications, since ceiling prices are fixed for specific formulations rather than for a molecule as a whole. Differences in how a product is described can lead to the wrong ceiling price being applied. Companies launching new formulations of scheduled medicines should also check whether a retail price must be fixed by the NPPA before marketing, and should keep a clear record of the notification on which each price relies.