Nearly 8.5 lakh private medicine shops across the country will remain closed on today as the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) calls for a nationwide protest against the e-pharmacy regulations that the Central government is deliberating upon in support of online sale of drugs.

Jagannath Shinde, AIOCD president said, “The association believes that the proposal of e-portal will lead to scarcity of medicines in the country.”

Following a government public notice in April on e-portal , AIOCD proposed amendments to Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1940 and permission to online sell of medicines be put on hold till the Government draft is changed. It had submitted a memorandum to the Union Health Ministry in this regard.

Prashant Tandon, president, Indian Internet Pharmacy Association (IIPA), an umbrella body for e-pharma portals said, “e-pharmacy will enable transparent drug dispensing mechanism and give high accountability as the entire procedure will be tracked.”