Goa PMRU Conducts District Event to Promote Drug Pricing Norms

The Goa State Price Monitoring and Resource Unit (Goa PMRU), with assistance from the Consumer Welfare Cell of Saraswat Education Society’s Sridora College of Commerce & Management Studies, recently organized a district-level awareness programme at Khorlim, Mapusa.

This was part of the Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) activities under the theme “Building a Healthier Nation: NPPA and Goa PMRU’s Contribution to Affordable Medicines and Awareness of Consumers.”

The Goa PMRU program, which is an initiative of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), aims to increase awareness around compliance with drug pricing data and the importance of compliance for affordable healthcare for stakeholders in Goa. 

The program was inaugurated by Shweta Dessai, Director, Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Goa, with a number of dignitaries present, including Prof. Santosh Patkar, Principal, Sridora College, Rupesh Kamat, SES Chair, Amit Kamat, President, Chemist and Druggist Association, and Roland Martin, GOA CAN Coordinator.

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Dr. Sarita Bhonsle, Project Coordinator, Goa PMRU, provided a well-born presentation on the NPPA drug price regulation. She also presented the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) as a method for reducing the financial burden of purchasing medicines and promoting self-employment. 

Following this, Swati Lad, Deputy Director, provided a presentation on the global concern, anti-microbial resistance (AMR). She stressed the need for heightened public awareness.

More than 80 participants attended the event, including FDA officials, members of the consumer club, representatives of the forum and chemists from North Goa. Goa PMRU is established under Category-3 with an annual budget of Rs. 7.80 lakh, functioning under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, to provide market-based data and monitor essential medicines price compliance in the state.