Mandaviya presents book on Jan Aushadhi success to President

Anshita Mehra

New Delhi, March 14

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday presented his book titled “Pioneers of Jan Aushadhi” to President Droupadi Murmu, highlighting the significant progress of the Jan Aushadhi project initiated under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The book serves as a documentation of the silent revolution aimed at providing affordable medication to millions across the country.

Mandaviya emphasised his pivotal role in the inception of the project, which aims to make quality medicines accessible and affordable, particularly for the poor and disadvantaged, through exclusive outlets known as Jan Aushadhi Medical Stores. This initiative is intended to significantly reduce out-of-pocket expenses in healthcare.

Originally launched in September 2015 as the Jan Aushadhi Scheme, it underwent revamping and was renamed as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana (PMJAY). To further enhance the scheme’s impact, it was renamed once again in November 2016 as the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP).

The PMBJP, a campaign spearheaded by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, aims to provide quality medicines at affordable prices to the masses through a network of PMBJP stores offering generic drugs. These medicines, while available at lower prices, maintain equivalent quality and efficacy to expensive branded drugs.

A core feature of the scheme is to ensure access to quality medicines, covering a wide range of generic medications to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure on healthcare. Additionally, efforts are made to raise awareness about generic medicines through education and publicity campaigns, dispelling the notion that quality is synonymous only with high prices.

Over the past nine years, there has been an exponential growth in the number of Jan Aushadhi stores, increasing from just 80 in 2014 to nearly 10,000 as of December 2023, covering almost all districts of the country. In his Independence Day speech in 2023, the Prime Minister announced plans to open 25,000 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) across the nation.

Moreover, the scheme has expanded to include Ayurvedic products aimed at boosting immunity, all available at affordable prices.