On July 5, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave me the responsibility as Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. At that time I went to meet the Prime Minister and said on which subject I should work. He said that there is such a dead scheme of the time of Congress, which can give immense benefits to the poor, that scheme has to be revived, and that is ‘Jan Aushadhi’. After that I started working on this plan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeps interacting with the public to know how any scheme launched by the government affects the common man, what positive changes it brings in his life. Similarly, in a dialogue, she talked to Deepa Sah of Uttarakhand, Deepa Sah told her that she had paralysis and her husband was also disabled, his medicines were very expensive, it had become very difficult to live. But the Jan Aushadhi project changed the situation. Earlier the cost of medicines used to be more than 12,000 but when she started taking medicines from Jan Aushadhi Kendra, her expenditure came down to 1,500, with the remaining money she does her other work. He said that ‘Modi ji, I have not seen God, but I have seen you as God’ Thank you very much’, even the Prime Minister himself became emotional after hearing this.
In today’s time, the public is surrounded by such diseases, for which they have to take medicines for the whole life, and there is a lot of expenditure on them, such as diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol etc. All these medicines are available at Jan Aushadhi Kendras at about 50 to 90 percent cheaper than the market price. This saved him a lot of pocket money. Due to this, citizens across the country have saved 20,000 crores. Today, when the 5th Janaushadhi Diwas is being celebrated, I would like to place before you the commitment, hard work and dedication of the previous government towards the success of this scheme through this article.
First of all, this Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Project was started as a business model in the country, under which Janaushadhi centers were opened as retail centers. Jan Aushadhi Kendra Any person, Pharmacist, Entrepreneur, NGO, Trust, Society, Institution, etc., who has a shop of 120 square feet and a trained pharmacist can open a Jan Aushadhi Kendra. Jan Aushadhi Kendra Operator is given an assistance amount of up to Rs.5 lakh from the government, which is based on the monthly sales. This amount can be up to a maximum of Rs 15,000 per month. Financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh is given separately to women entrepreneurs, Divyang, retired servicemen, SC and ST applicants, North Eastern States, hilly areas, to set up their centers, as well as to sell pharmaceutical products. A software is also provided. In this way, these centers were established as a business model in the country and also become a major source of employment.
As this scheme expanded, this scheme started reaching the common man in every corner of the country. In 2014, only 80 centers were working under this scheme in the country, whose number has increased to more than 9000 today. That means more than 100 times in just last 8 years. We set a target for this plan every year and work on it. In 2014-2015, the sale at Jan Aushadhi Kendras was about 12 crores, today it has increased to about 1200 crores. This not only saved the people, but also reduced their expenditure. Keeping in view the increasing trend and demand of the public towards Jan Aushadhi Kendras, and their convenience, we also increased the number of products available at the centres. Where only 300 products were available at the centers in 2014-15, today their number has increased to 2039. With this I would like to draw your attention to one more point. Not only medicines are available at the centers, but other surgical products are also available on it. When more than 9,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras were opened across the country, care was also taken that there should be no hindrance in the supply of these. To keep the supply chain accessible, we have increased the number of warehouses. In 2014-2015, where there was only 1 warehouse in the country, today there are 4 warehouses in the country. Generic medicines available here are available at a lower price than the market, that too about 50%-90% cheaper. Expensive medicine for cancer like disease, for example docetaxel which is available in the market for Rs.9,828 is available at Janaushadhi Kendra for just Rs.18,00 i.e. 82% cheaper. This is a very big deal for the common citizen of India.
This is such a scheme which has directly affected the lives of the common people of the country, saved millions of lives, I can say that this scheme is a tribute to the nectar that came out of the churning of the ocean, which enriched the lives of millions of people of the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one thing has become a clear guideline for me and my officers that no poor person of the country should lose his life because of the cost and shortage of medicines. While ensuring this, we have taken special care of women’s health. Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana has played an important role in empowering women and ensuring their good health. I am proud to say that at Jan Aushadhi Kendras, sanitary pads are made available for just Re 1. It has solved the big problem of all women. folk medicine.