The panel observed that medicines directly regulated by the NPPA constitute only around 18 percent of the total pharmaceutical market. These scheduled formulations are included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) and are subject to government-notified price controls. The remaining 82 percent consists of non-scheduled formulations, for which pharmaceutical manufacturers are allowed to determine the initial market price. The committee expressed concern that the existing arrangement could provide manufacturers with considerable flexibility in setting the initial prices of non-scheduled medicines. Under the existing provisions, the MRP of non-scheduled formulations cannot be increased by more than 10 percent over the MRP applicable during the preceding 12 months.