Lok Sabha Question No. 277 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-03
Subject: Drugs Excluded/Included in NLEM
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Raksha Nikhil Khadse, Manoj Kishorbhai Kotak

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.277 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03 RD  FEBRUARY, 2023

## DRUGS EXCLUDED/INCLUDED IN NLEM

## 277: SHRIMATI RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE: SHRI MANOJ KOTAK:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has recently excluded/included drugs from the list of National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM);
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with details of the medicines excluded/included therein;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  proposed  the  need  to  enhance  awareness  regarding  Anti Microbial Resistance (AMR); and
- (d) if so, the details thereof along with the list  of medicines covered under AMR and their usages for treatment?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

- (a) & (b): The Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM) was constituted to review and revise the National List of Essential Medicines by way of additions and deletions in  the  existing  NLEM  in  the  context  of  contemporary  knowledge  of  use  of  therapeutic products  in  health  &  hygiene  of  general  public.  The  SNCM  submitted  its  final  report  on 10.09.2022. The Government of India has accepted the recommendations of the Committee and  the  National  List  of  Essential  Medicines  (NLEM),  2022  became  operational  vide notification  dated  13.09.2022.  The  current  National  List  of  Essential  Medicines  (NLEM, 2022)  contains  384  medicines.  In  NLEM  2022,  34  medicines  have  been  added  and  26 medicines have been deleted from NLEM, 2015. The details are available on the website of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at https://main.mohfw.gov.in/newshighlights-104
- (c) & (d):  Government of India has taken following initiatives to increase awareness about antibiotics:
- i. ICMR has initiated antibiotic stewardship program (AMSP) on a pilot project basis in 20 tertiary care hospitals across India to control misuse and overuse of antibiotics in hospital wards and ICUs.
- ii. DCGI has banned 40 fixed dose combinations (FDCs) which were found inappropriate.
- iii. ICMR  worked  in collaboration with Indian Council of Agriculture Research, Department of  Animal Husbandry, Dairy and  Fisheries and the DCGI to ban use of Colistin as growth promoter in animal feed in poultry.
- iv. Various  IEC  activities  like  public  conclave,  poster  and  quiz  competitions  have  been conducted  by  National  Centre  for  Disease  Control  (NCDC)  in  schools,  colleges  and Health  melas  to  create  awareness  about  AMR,  its  containment  &  prevention  and judicial use of antibiotics among the common public.
- v. To raise awareness among the community and the health care providers, communication material includes posters, videos and radio jingles has been developed with emphasis on prevention of irrational use of antibiotics during viral-illnesses and also on infection prevention through hand hygiene to prevent spread of infections.

Under the National Programme for Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance, NCDC supports  institutes  to  conduct  surveillance  of  antibiotics  consumed  in  their  respective hospitals.

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