Current Affairs Question - 03 April 2020

Explanation :

• On 1^st April, 2020, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has set up price monitoring and resource unit (PMRU) in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The unit shall help the NPPA and the State Drug Controller in ensuring availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices.
• With this J&K has become the 12th State/UT where the PMRU has been set up.
• PMRUs have already been set up by the drug price regulator NPPA in 11 states such as Kerala, Odisha, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Nagaland, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Mizoram.
• It is to be noted that the Kerala has become the first State to set up a price monitoring and research unit (PMRU) in February, 2019.

Price Monitoring & Resource Unit

• It is a registered society, which function under the direct control and supervision of State Drug Controller of respective states.
• The unit is being funded by NPPA for its recurring and non-recurring expenses.

Functions

• Help NPPA and State Drug Controller in ensuring availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices.
• Organise seminars, training programs and other information, education and communication (IEC) activities in the areas of availability and affordability of medicines for all.
• Collect samples of medicines, collect and analyse data and make reports with respect to availability and over-pricing of medicines for taking action under the provisions of Drug Price Control Order (DPCO).

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)

• Formed in August 1997, it is a government regulatory agency that controls the prices of pharmaceutical drugs in India.
• NPPA fixes ceiling price of essential medicines that are listed in Schedule I of DPCO, 2013.

Explanation :

• The countercyclical capital buffer is intended to protect the banking sector against losses that could be caused by cyclical systemic risks increasing in the economy.
• It aims to ensure that banking sector capital requirements take account of the macro-financial environment in which banks operate.
• It require banks to hold capital at times when credit is growing rapidly so that the buffer can be reduced if the financial cycle turns down or the economic and financial environment becomes substantially worse.
• Banks can use the capital buffers they have built up during the growth phase of the financial cycle to cover losses that may arise during periods of stress and to continue supplying credit to the real economy.
• The rule was first introduced in Basel III as an extension of another buffer (called the capital conservation buffer).