COVID-19 in India: Govt extends price cap on oxygen for three more months

As COVID-19 cases rise across the globe, the Indian government has extended the cap on trade margin on oxygen prices for three more months. It will now expire on March 31.

An order by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority and the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers on Friday announced the government's decision to extend fixed prices of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO), oxygen cylinders and oxygen concentrators until March 31.

This capped trade margin also applies to five medical devices — pulse oximeters, blood pressure monitoring machines, nebulizers, digital thermometers and glucometers.

The central government, in June 2021, had stepped in during the second wave of the COVID pandemic to regulate oxygen prices in India. It capped trade margins at 70 percent on the price to distributor level on oxygen concentrators.

Margins at the distributor level in June were ranging around 198 percent, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers had reported.

Since its implementation, the price cap order has been extended several times. The last extension, on July 4, 2022, was set to expire in December 2022. It is now applicable until April 2023.