15 lakh chemists down shutters as AIOCD strikes against e-pharmacy discounting
AIOCD-led nationwide bandh protests 20-50% online discounts, pandemic-era home-delivery exemptions and alleged fake-drug risks from Tata 1mg, PharmEasy, Apollo and Netmeds. Chemists demand rollback of notifications enabling e-pharmacy growth threatening small offline retailers.
Over 15 lakh chemists shut shops nationwide in AIOCD-led strike protesting online pharmacy sales, deep discounts (20-50%), fake drugs and pandemic-era home-delivery exemptions, demanding rollback of notifications enabling e-pharmacy growth that threatens small retailers.
Why this matters
Latest escalation after AIOCD's earlier 12 lakh chemist strike and CDSCO's contingency plan for the May 20 stir, though a prior bandh fizzled as chains, Jan Aushadhi and AMRIT stayed open.
Omni-channel signals steady at 81 in last 90 days, reflecting sustained offline-vs-online tension.