The government on Monday said online sale of medicines is permitted under the present law and the health ministry will issue a clarification to put the issues between chemists and e-pharmacies to rest.
Ramesh Abhishek, secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), said there are about 50 e-pharmacies in the country and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act does not say that medicines cannot be sold online.
"...but a clarity is required on this. So what the Ministry of Health is doing is (that they are) working on issuing some clarifications which will clarify that this is allowed under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act," he told reporters here.
He was briefing the media with Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after meeting startups and incubators.
Brick-and-mortar chemists had raised objections against e-pharmacies, saying online sale of medicines is not allowed under the act. In some sates, police have claimed that such businesses are flouting laws.
Asked about the proposal to ask pension and insurance funds to finance startups, Abhishek said the DIPP already has had preliminary discussions with regulators and will take up the discussions further.
"We are going to take up formally with them. This will need tweaking of their regulations...that is a desirable objective and that is why we are pursuing that. We will continue our discussions," he said.
Replying to a question about setting up of a Rs 2,000-crore credit guarantee fund for budding entrepreneurs, the secretary said the DIPP is working on the programme and would soon approach the Cabinet for its approval.
Currently, the DIPP is in the process of getting the approval of the Expenditure Finance Committee.
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