The Full Form of DPCO is‍ Drug Price Control Order.

In 1997, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) was established under the ministry of chemicals and fertilizers, Government of India with the aim of controlling the prices of medicines and ensure its availability. In 1979, 347 drugs were included in the price control list and later the drug list was shortened to 166 in 1987 and further to 142. This drug list has been revised and cut down considerably over the years and finally in 1995, the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) included only 76 drugs that were subjected to price control. Recently, on May 15, 2013, the Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers (Department of Pharmaceuticals) authorized NPPA to regulate the availability and pricing of all the drugs mentioned in National Essential List of India (National List of Essential Medicines [NLEM], 2011). As a result, the prices of the 348 essential medicines originally included in 1979 were reduced dramatically, and they were made available to the public at low cost.