There are rules that limit how and when Indian companies are allowed to manufacture generic versions of a medicine . Like when the original patent holder isn ' t providing the medicine in India or their patent has lapsed . The Indian government only intervenes in drug pricing when the drug being sold is the only one of its kind available and the disease being treated is a major health concern . The government doesn ' t need to regulate prices on most drugs because the drug companies price their offerings appropriately to avoid intervention . Taking your example of Hepatitis C , a quick Google search tells me there ' s 130150 million people in the world suffering from it . If a pharma company spent a billion dollars developing it , considering the size of their market , they could make 1 . 31 . 5 billion dollars in the very first year if they charged 10 dollars per dose . That goes up to 1315 billion dollars if they charge 100 dollars . The Indian government would take this into consideration and as long as the pharma company charges 100500 dollars for these lifesaving treatments , they would not intervene . But 64 , 000 dollar pricing , for example , would be stepped on as being cynical profiteering from a monopoly . The numbers mentioned above are just indicative and not concrete . Unrestrained capitalism isn ' t the greatest model when it comes to necessities like healthcare .