The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has urgently called for government intervention against the National Medical Commission's (NMC) new rule on prescribing generic drugs. 

The IMA emphasized concerns about compromised drug quality due to weak national quality control systems, posing risks to patient health. 

Merely 0.1% of domestically manufactured drugs are quality checked, the association noted. 

The IMA suggested that if the government and NMC mandate generic drug prescriptions, pharmaceutical firms should produce unbranded drugs. 

The association contended that doctors' primary duty is patient well-being, while drug dispensing is a pharmacist's role, arguing that patient interests are not served by this shift. 

They questioned the necessity of licensing branded drugs if doctors are restricted from prescribing them, as modern medicine relies on doctor-prescribed dispensation.