• The government has opened 8,001 Janaushadhi Kendras under Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP), covering all the districts of the country, as on August 2, 2021.  

• The government aims to open about 10,500 Janaushadhi Kendras by March 2025, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. 

• The government recently enhanced the incentives granted to store owners from existing Rs 2.50 lakh to up to Rs 5 lakh, given at the rate of 15 per cent of monthly purchases made, subject to a ceiling of Rs 15,000 per month. 

• Additional one-time incentive of Rs 2 lakh is available for purchase of furniture and fixtures to the PMBJKs opened in aspirational districts, Himalayan, Island territories, Northeast states and PMBJKs opened by women entrepreneurs, persons with disabilities, SCs & STs.

Background

• Jan Aushadhi was launched by the government in 2008 for making quality medicines available at affordable prices for all. The campaign was undertaken through the sale of generic medicines through exclusive outlets namely Pradhan Mantri Janaushadhi Kendra in various districts of the country.

• It was later renamed as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP). 

• It aims to bring down the health care budget of citizens by providing quality generic medicines at affordable prices

• The scheme is being implemented through a registered society namely Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI), which is working under the administrative control of department of pharmaceuticals, ministry of chemicals & fertilisers.

Objectives of the scheme:

• To popularise generic medicines among the masses and dispel the prevalent notion that low priced generic medicines are of inferior quality or are less effective.

• To make available quality medicines consumables and surgical items at affordable prices for all and thereby reduce out of pocket expenditure of consumers/patients.

• Generate employment by engaging individual entrepreneurs in the opening of PMBJP Kendras.

• The product basket of the scheme now covers more than 1,449 medicines and 204 surgicals & consumables in all major therapeutic categories such as anti-infectives, anti-allergics, anti-diabetics, cardiovasculars, anti-cancers, gastro-intestinal medicines, etc.

• The medicines listed in the product list of PMBJP are procured only from World Health Organisation – Good Manufacturing Practices (WHO-GMP) certified suppliers for ensuring the quality of the products. Apart from this, each batch of the drug is tested at laboratories accredited by the ‘National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories’ (NABL). Only after passing the quality tests, the medicines are dispatched to PMBJP Kendras.

• A medicine under PMBJP is priced on the principle of a maximum of 50 per cent of the average price of the top three branded medicines. Therefore, the price of Janaushadhi medicines is cheaper at least by 50 per cent and in some cases, by 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the market price of branded medicines.

• A mobile application ‘Janaushadhi Sugam’ has also been launched with user-friendly options like — locate nearby PMBJK (direction guided through Google Maps), search janaushadhi medicines, etc. 

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store