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| Indian consumers are being looted | | In the name of MRP/Discount | | R.B. Suri | 5/2/2019 11:05:09 PM |
| The bad luck of the citizens of this country is that we have the number of laws and the various enactments besides the various penal laws but they are not being implemented in letter and spirit sternly resulting which the delinquents are going scot free in this nation and are amazing the huge wealth from the poor masses of the land. Just to protect the Consumers from the profiteering and the hoarding, various laws are also there to check the mal practices on this score but still they are being exploited and looted to the large extent. In the name of the Maximum Retail Price(MRP) printed on the Consumable articles and the products by the manufacturers or the Discount, the traders are charging from the consumers. While fixing the MRP of the product the Governmental authorities are not consulted at all by the Manufacturers at the cost of the Consumers. It has been observed seriously that the Manufacturers are in the habit of fixing the MRP always on the higher side. Two types of the retailers are there in the open market - One which Charges the MRP from the Consumer and the other leaves some margin and charges less than the MRP. Not to talk of the big products, I am concentrating on the small products of daily use, while writing this article, pen down that one gets one product say a blade packet containing 5 blades@ Rs. 5 against the printed MRP @ Rs.8. Similar is the case of other products over which the MRP printed as Rs. 80, 120, 250 , 400 ( for example), the traders are charging the same from the Consumers (actually this happening in the Semi Urban and Rural India) and the Consumers who are literate in the Urban areas don't negotiate with the retailers or the businessmen and get some rebate on the products they are purchasing from them. This is a case of rural exploitation of the poor masses of this great country. This needs to checked and plucked immediately.
Apart from the above, a big loot is being going on in the open market in respect of the Medicines / Surgical items besides other Pharmaceutical products of course. A big nexus is operating between the Manufacturers of these products and the Chemists and the Druggists all across the country. The Prime Minister of the country Narender Modi last year on the foreign soil while addressing at a function organized in his homour had made the remarks that there exists a "NEXUS" between the Doctors and the Pharmaceutical companies in the country and abroad as well. I also as a good citizen of the country regularly watching the things very minutely which are going detrimental to the interests of the country in general and its citizens in particular based upon which,I wrote an article under the caption-"NO GOVERNMENT CONTROL OVER " SALES OF MEDICINES AND SURGICAL ITEMS " which was published in this esteemed paper on February 16 last year. This paper is seriously concerning with all of these matters and especially projecting the problems regularly being faced by the people at large in the right perspective. Pertinent to mention that that the remarks made by the Prime Minister of India at London gave the weight age to the problems on this score, which, I tried my level best to project the same in my published article on the issue involved. The Prime Minister Narender Modi further had stated at London that Doctors attend the various Conferences abroad to promote their companies in order to increase their sales turn over. The poor people of the country do not have the big kitty for purchasing the costly medicines for their proper medical treatments. At the cost of the poor men of the country, the Pharmaceutical companies are minting their hard earned money and are regularly increasing their sales turn over year after year or so ( in lacs of crores rupees ) and are conducting / sponsoring the foreign tours of the doctors along with their families in connection with so called Conferences abroad and in the country as well just to keep them in good humour. This is considered as a big tactics of these Pharmaceutical companies indeed and i.e. deplorable one as it really hit the common man. I am sorry to point out that the country really wants a strong action on this score, from his side to curb this menace at the earliest possible. It is highly appreciable that due to the serious and concerted efforts of the governmental authorities in the country and the states as well, the life expectancy has been increased to the maximum extent thereby reducing the death rate. Now the human lives are being protected by the government in respect of every field of life. Widows, disabled, destitute, senior citizens, orphans, deaf and dumb feel more protected as number of schemes stand already taken up for them by the government where under medical care, nutrition as also financial aid in cash or by credit to their respective bank accounts are being given due care and attention by the government. All this could be possible only with the regular medical and financial assistance measures already taken up by the government for them where under medical care and nutrition as also aid in cash or by credit to their bank accounts are being provided effectively. Their complaints are being given due care and attention by the government. This could be possible only with the regular medical and financial assistance to them by the government and other NGOs working in the field. This does not mean that the open market of sales medicines should go as it is, which is at the moment without any control on it from the side of the government. To check this all non sense / menace, there is a dire need to book all the delinquent Pharmaceutical and Surgical items traders who are doing this malpractices trade under the prevailant laws of the land. They should not go scot free in accumulating the hard earned money of the poor and the down trodden towards their hefty kitty and bank accounts. The exploitation of the poor and the down trodden needs to be checked on war footings and all these malpractices are required to be made to halt at this stage only. If all this non sense practice is not checked in time, there is a threat to increase in life expectancy as also saving the precious lives of the human beings.
Pertinent to mention on this score that now a days unhealthy competition is being made by these traders in the field. To promote their sales of the medicines and the Surgical itemsallegedly, they have displayed huge 'Sign and Glow boards' on their shops and sales outlets in and out side of the hospitals and medical clinics with regard to granting of huge discounts on the sales of medicines and surgical items ranging from 10% to 60 % and in some case even up to 70 percent. This is very strange because of the fact that the Chemists and the Druggists are not only engaged in the unhealthy business but also it appears that there is a big nexus between them and the producers and manufacturing of the Pharmaceutical and the Surgical companies spread over the length and breadth of the country. These companies are of the well repute and the substandard ones doing the said so called business of the medicines. Statutory regulatory bodies are there like - National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority, Drug Controller of India, State Drug Controllers and NPAP 'Price Checking' governmental agencies but painfully it is to point out that they are just non serious and playing the role merely as the mute spectators and it appears that they have allowed the involved traders to undergo such like activities in the sales of medicines and surgical items. This matter of the nexus between the pharmaceutical companies, wholesalers and the retailers also is being treated as the grave threat to this trade which needs to be taken care of by the government at the earliest by invoking the powers under the laws of the land. In this context, it is suggested that the government should adopt the firm policy of checking this unhealthy and dangerous business in looting the poor and down trodden. There is a conclusive evidence that the government has given these traders a free hand in looting the public at large as there is no price control over sales of medicines and surgical items which is going detrimental to the interests of poor community and society as a whole. But instead the Corporate Pharmaceutical sector engaged in the Pharmaceutical and Surgical trades are enjoying a lot and minting the hard earned money of the poor and down trodden and depressed lot due to various ailments. The poor, down trodden and depressed lot are subjected under compulsions to pay the hefty costs to the doctors / surgeons in order to get rid of the medical problems. They have no other option except to come at the dictats of the doctors / surgeons as also of the Pharmaceuticals manufacturing companies in the country. These Pharmaceutical and surgical traders do fix the rates of the various medicines and surgical items produced and manufactured by them according to their wishes and whims ( which are always on the higher side) at the cost of poor and down trodden. If the involved traders are offering so much discounts i.e. ranging from 10 to 60 percent and even 70 percent on the sales of medicines and surgical items, this means that lot of margin of profit is there in this trade which needs to be checked at the earliest, otherwise the country will be at stake in the days to come. If one goes by analyzing the present prevailing situation in context of rural / muffasil / urban areas across the country - urban people being literates do bargain with the chemists /druggists on this score whereas the rural people being not so much literates do pay the prices( MRP) of the medicines / surgical items as written over there on the wrappers or the containers. Since they are educationally not so forward, they are being exploited by these traders in the open markets across the country. This is very bad indeed. This is happening in the length and breadth of the country but the government organizations and the other connected agencies are keeping their criminal silence over this important issue involved and the poor and down trodden are being continued to be exploited and on the contrary, the Pharmaceutical / Surgical items companies operating in the country are being benefitted a lot at the cost of poor and down trodden. Rich consumers of these products even don't mind to pay the printed MRP prices to the traders. Sales of medicines and the surgical items are left to the mercy of the captioned traders and the God.
The prevailing practice of printing the MRP on the products produced by the manufacturers and the producers is not fair at all as the Consumers being looted, ditched and dodged liberally without any fear from the governmental side. As such, there is a dire need of change of policy of the government thereby bringing the required amendments in the laws of the land immediately. Instead of printing MRP on the products, it should be made as Mandatory to print the Cost Price and the Sale price on the products so as to enable the Consumers to analyze and compare the profit margin the Manufacturers and the Producers are enjoying over the same on their own. By doing this specifically, the Consumers would be protected in order to avoid their exploitation at the hands of the Manufacturers and the Producers With this, the Manufacturers and the Producers won't be able to earn the huge profits out of this trade. Certainly the Consumers of this country would be having a sigh of relief in the days to come. This should be done as early as possible. Our country is a developing country wherein more than 50 % of the total population of 132 crore live below the poverty line who cannot afford to spend much on these items to save themselves from various medical ailments. It is better for the State/ Central Governments to come forward without wasting any further time for putting this unfortunate situation prevailing in the country in the best interests of the poor lot. |
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