
Jul 13, 2026
✦The Telegraph
Costly delay: Editorial on India's failure to revise 'essential medicines list'
India’s National List of Essential Medicines has remained frozen since 2022. While the WHO updated its list twice, India still uses the old version with 384 drugs. Experts said, "17 cancer medicines, four supportive oncology drugs and nine monoclonal antibodies" are missing, forcing many patients to pay high private prices.