Describing the availability of medicines for the poor as a major concern, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that his government is determined to provide affordable healthcare to every Indian. Interacting with some of the beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP), he said that diseases not only pose a huge financial burden to families, especially the poor and middle class, but also take a toll on the country’s socio-economic fabric It does impact. A day before this remark of the Prime Minister, the Central Government announced the opening of two thousand Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country.
Along with making health facilities more accessible to the common people, this is also a big decision in terms of employment generation. These Jan Aushadhi Kendras will be opened in primary agricultural credit societies. With this the sources of income of these committees will increase and employment opportunities will also increase in rural areas. But the biggest benefit will be to the general public, who will be able to get cheap medicines. This year, one thousand Jan Aushadhi Kendras will be opened by August and one thousand more by December. This scheme to provide cheap medicines was started in 2008. So far more than 9,300 Jan Aushadhi Kendras have been opened. Maximum 1300 centers are in Uttar Pradesh. After that there are states like Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Generic medicines are given at affordable rates at these centers which are open from eight in the morning to eight in the night, which are 50 to 80 percent less than the medicines of big companies sold at medical stores.
Generic medicines are also as effective as the big brand medicines. Currently 1,759 medicines are available at Jan Aushadhi Kendras. Large stores have been set up in four cities of the country – Gurugram, Chennai, Guwahati and Surat – from where 36 distributors have been appointed to deliver medicines to far-flung areas. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said that every fifth generic medicine used in the world is manufactured in India. Every day, on an average, 12 lakh people visit Jan Aushadhi Kendras to buy medicines. This scheme of India is attracting other countries as well. In a meeting of the G-20 on health related issues, Nigeria approached the Indian authorities for a similar plan.
