Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has said that 526 brands of 42 anti-cancer drugs showed price reduction up to 90 percent following the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority - NPPA's price rationalization initiated in February 2019.

Invoking extraordinary powers in the public interest, NPPA had launched a Pilot on Trade Margin Rationalisation for 42 anti-cancer drugs as a step towards making healthcare more affordable for cancer patients. The Pilot has led to an annual saving of 984 crore rupees to cancer patients. The Ministry said it is also a matter of great satisfaction that the Pilot has received immense support from all the stakeholders including patients' support groups.

According to the World Health Organisation, cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and in 2018 there were approximately 18 million cases globally, of which 1.5 million were in India alone.

There were around 0.8 million cancer deaths in India in 2018 against 9.5 million globally. The numbers of new cases are estimated to double in India by 2040.