Providing cheap and better quality medicines to all govt’s first priority: Mansukh Mandaviya

Addressing the gathering, Mandaviya said the first priority of the government is to provide cheap and better quality medicines to all citizens. He urged youngsters to become Jan Aushadhi Mitras to publicise the benefits of the Jan Aushadhi Kendras. The minister recounted the words of a woman beneficiary who informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi that her monthly medicine bill has been reduced from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1,100 because of the Jan Aushadhi stores.

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) was launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals in November 2008. But, only 80 such stores were opened by 2014. As of January 31, 2023, the country has 9,082 outlets that sell medicines up to 90% less than market price.

As part of the initiative, 743 out of 764 districts in the country have been covered.

The government has set a target to increase the number of Janaushadhi Kendras to 10,000 by the end of December 2023. The stores offer over 1,700 medicines and 200 surgical items. More than 10 lakh people visit the stores each day.

The best performing states when it comes to Jan Ausadhi Kendras are Uttar Pradesh with 1,293 stores, Karnataka (1,037 stores) and Kerala (977 stores).

Emphasising the high quality of the products under the Jan Aushadhi scheme, Mandaviya said the failure rate of samples under the scheme is less than 1% as compared to around 2% in the general market.

These stores are not owned or operated by the government, instead entrepreneurs are provided incentives to sell the medicines centrally procured by the government.