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CAIT urge government to take action against e-pharmacy companies, including Amazon, Flipkart, Reliance

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Training its guns on e-pharmacy companies, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Monday strongly raised the issue of malpractices being conducted in online pharmacy trade.

CAIT alleged that primarily Pharmeasy, Medlife, 1Mg, Netmeds (now owned by Reliance Group), Amazon (foreign company owned by Amazon) Flipkart (owned by foreign company Walmart) are conducting business practices in contravention of provisions of The Drug & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and misusing the e-commerce landscape by operating on rock bottom prices with 30 per cent-40 per cent discount and free shipping.

It’s a case of capital dumping in these e-pharmacies by foreign behemoths which is proving extremely detrimental to the future of the lakhs of crores of small chemists across the country . The retail chemists are the last mile connectivity and emergency provisioning is ensured by brick-and-mortar retailers who in turn also provide livelihood to millions of retail pharmacies, their families and employees

The CAIT has once again reiterated while its demand for issuance of a fresh press note in lieu of Press Note 2 of the FDI policy to make Indian e-commerce trade free from all glitches and a competitive level playing field for all stakeholders and formation of a Regulatory Authority to monitor and regulate e commerce business in India.

CAIT National President B.C. Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that mushrooming of e-pharmacy is causing huge hardships to the retail chemists and distributors in the wake of anti-competitive practices like capital dumping and deep discounting leading to predatory pricing. Brick and Mortar medicine retailers, including retail chemists and distributors are the first points of contact for needy patients across the country. E-pharmacies with their financial backing by large foreign players/funds have started disrupting brick and mortar retailers due to the unmatched and often unsustainable pricing.

They further said that It is important to note that sale of prescription drugs and medicines through online medium is illegal. The legal regime, under Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940, does not permit home delivery of prescription medicines for which a prescription “in original” is required.

Bhartia and Khandelwal said that the e-pharmacies like Pharmeasy and Medlife indulged in deep discounting on their platforms by giving a flat discount of 30 per cent. To capture the market even further, an additional cashback of 20 per cent is extended to customers with free shipping. Effectively, this translated to a whopping discount of around 40 per cent-45 per cent with free shipping.

Predatory Pricing is done with the sole intention of eliminating the market competition. E-pharmacies have indulged in predatory pricing immediately after the lockdown by offering a 25 per cent discount on medicines and an astronomical 75 per cent discount on wellness products, a market that had begun expanding after the recent Covid-19 pandemic. While even a 25 per cent discount on medicines is capable of distorting the market, a 75 per cent discount on a market that had just begun to swell up is daylight robbery since it not only erodes the customer base of traditional retailers but also creates an unhealthy competition, one that is unsustainable in the long run.

Bhartia and Khandelwal said that by using consumer data, which is otherwise not available to traditional players, e-pharmacies like Pharmeasy & Medlife (owned by Dharmil Seth and investment from Temasek, etc.) and 1Mg (Prashant Tandon, investment from Sequoia and now slated to merge in Tata Group) Netmed of Reliance, Amazon and Flipkart have offered a minimum discount of 30 per cent at the start of the month and approximately 40 per cent discount at the end of the month to cater to the analysis and resultant trend that spending reduces end of the month.

The CAIT has demanded that beside general e-commerce where rules and policies are being flouted at a high magnitude level, the e-pharmacy has become another trade which is being targeted by these heavily funded companies to capture and monopolised at the cost of uprooting of lakhs of chemists and medicine traders across the country. Therefore, immediate intervention of the government is required to stop this menace.

Business

India red-flags $800 million ADB aid package to Pakistan

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New Delhi, June 4: India has expressed deep concerns over the potential misuse of the $800 million ADB aid package to Pakistan as the country is increasing its defence expenditure, despite the poor fiscal position, with the army exercising de facto control over the government in Islamabad.

The army top brass now leads the Special Investment Facilitation Council, which gives it more control over the economic policy. India has warned that this entrenched military role poses serious risks of policy reversal and poor reform implementation, according to reliable sources.

Pakistan’s tax-GDP ratio has been declining, with the country going through an economic crisis. The foreign exchange reserves have hit rock bottom, and inflation has soared to double-digit figures. However, despite the dire economic situation, the military-driven government has gone for increasing expenditure on defence.

India has also pointed out that Pakistan has a very poor track record in implementing the economic reforms that are mandatory with these aid packages from multilateral institutions.

India’s concern is that these funds can be diverted for defence expenditure. The fighter jets purchased from China and the large number of drones used by Pakistan in the wake of Operation Sindoor reflect the increased spending on military hardware, an official said.

It pointed out that Pakistan recently approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the 24th bailout, indicating policy ineffectiveness. This further shows that the previous ADB and IMF-supported programmes have failed to create sustainable macroeconomic stability.

India has also highlighted that Pakistan’s policy of promoting cross-border terrorism has led to a worsening of the security situation in the region.

It has further pointed out that Islamabad’s track record on implementation of the FATF action points related to terrorist financing investigations and prosecution of leaders of UN-designated terrorist groups and freezing and confiscation of criminal assets is also highly unsatisfactory.

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National

Monsoon session of Parliament from July 21 to August 12

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New Delhi, June 4: The Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin on July 21 and conclude on August 12, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Wednesday.

Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will convene at 11 a.m. on the opening day, marking the start of the first parliamentary session in over three months.

The session is expected to be politically charged, especially against the backdrop of heightened demands by the Opposition for a special session.

Sixteen opposition parties had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, pressing for an immediate session to discuss the recent Pahalgam terror attack and the retaliatory Operation Sindoor — a cross-border military operation targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

In response, the government has now formalised the Monsoon Session schedule, asserting that all issues, including those raised by the Opposition, can be taken up during the scheduled sitting.

The Budget Session earlier this year ran from January 31 to April 4 in two phases and saw the passage of several key legislations, including the Waqf Amendment Bill which seeks to focus on improving the management of waqf properties, empowerment of stakeholders relevant to management of waqf properties, improving the efficiency in survey, registration and case disposal process, and development of waqf properties.

While the core purpose remains to manage waqf properties, the aim is to implement modern and scientific methods for better governance. The Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923, was also repealed.

Apart from the Waqf Amendment Bill, the government also passed the ‘Tribhuvan’ Sahkari University Bill, 2025, for the establishment of ‘Tribhuvan’ Sahkari University to provide education, training, and capacity building in the cooperative sector and undertake research and development activities in related areas.

The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, was also passed to simplify the laws for the requirement of passports or other travel documents in respect of persons entering into and exiting from India and for regulating matters related to foreigners, including the requirement of a visa and registration.

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Crime

Man arrested for raping, murdering 80-year-old woman in Karnataka

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Kolar, June 4: A man has been arrested on charges of raping and murdering an 80-year-old woman in Srinivasapura town of Karnataka’s Kolar district.

The police have apprehended the accused, who has since been remanded to judicial custody.

The accused has been identified as 37-year-old Baba Jaan, a resident of Gaffar Khan Mohalla in Srinivasapura.

According to the police, the victim’s body was discovered on Monday evening at a garage near an open field on Mulbagal Road in Srinivasapura town.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim had been raped and murdered.

The victim had left home two days ago, informing her family that she would visit the church at Srinivasapura.

The woman stayed in Srinivasapura for two days, and on Monday evening, when the woman was waiting for a bus to return home, the accused targeted her.

The accused spoke to her to ensure she was alone.

He then allegedly lifted and carried her to an isolated place, where he brutally raped her before strangling her to death.

The accused also robbed Rs 15,000 from her bag.

During their investigation, the police obtained CCTV footage from a nearby shop, which captured the accused lifting the victim and hurriedly carrying her away.

While the police were gathering information, the accused returned to the crime scene to observe the unfolding events. Alert police personnel identified and apprehended him.

The accused later confessed to committing the crime to rob the victim’s money and jewellery.

The victim’s family has urged the police to “kill” the accused due to the heinous nature of the crime.

More details regarding the incident are yet to emerge.

On August 21, 2024, the Chintamani police had arrested a 28-year-old labourer for sexually assaulting a 65-year-old woman on the hospital premises in the wee hours.

Based on a complaint by the staffers at the Chintamani government hospital, the police launched a hunt and nabbed the accused.

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