HYDERABAD: Ministry of health and family welfare has issued a draft notification recently on the sale of drugs by E-Pharmacies which allows registration and licensing of online drug sales. Drug Controller General of India Dr S Eswar Reddy told TOI that Rs 3000 crore online pharma business will be regularised from the day of final notification expected to be issued after 45 days of window time for seeking public objections.He said that E pharmacies deliver drugs possibly at 20 to 30 per cent cost less than the offline pharmacies and deliver goods at home. Psychotropic substances, habit-forming medicines like cough syrup and sleeping pills, schedule x drugs will not be sold online.The notification is about the amendment of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules amendment to enable registration of the e pharmacies and monitoring of their functioning.Dr S Eswar Reddy said, "Patients can order medicines by uploading the prescription, and they will be delivered at home by the e pharmacies. As there are no distribution costs involved and the e pharmacies procured directly from the manufacturers, the price may come down by 20 to 30 per cent ton Maximum Retail Price All the transaction will be done electronically which will encourage digital payments, and these bills can be tracked online for any misuse. Each E pharmacy shall appoint pharmacists with customer care which will create the additional jobs in addition to the existing offline pharmacists that are already giving jobs to the pharmacists,”Reddy added,”In the past two to three years every year the sales through E pharmacies are growing 100 per cent. The already existing Rs 3000 crore online pharmacy business will be streamlined.”The draft rules say that narcotic and psychotropic substances and schedule x drugs shall not be sold online. Al the e-pharmacies have to be registered compulsorily with the Central Drugs Standard control organisation.Apart from registration, the e pharmacies have to obtain a license from the State government to sell the medicines online.Both state and central drug authorities will be monitoring the data of sales and transactions of e pharmacies. Any violation of rules the registration of e-pharmacies will be suspended, and it can be cancelled too. The premises from which e-pharmacy is operated regular inspections will be conducted every two years by the central licencing authority.Protecting the health data privacy the rules say that e pharmacy shall not disclose any information about the patients and drugs for any other person or purpose.