Lok Sabha Question No. 505 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-09
Subject: Availability of Medicines at JAKs
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Krupal Balaji Tumane, Bhavana Gawali (Patil)

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACEUTICALS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 505 TO BE ANSWERED ON 9 th  December, 2022

## Availability of Medicines at JAKs

## †505.   SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE: SHRIMATI BHAVANA PUNDALIKRAO GAWALI:

Will the Minister of CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  there  is  any  difference  between  the  cost/price  of  branded  medicines  and  the medicines being provided at Jan Aushadhi Kendras (JAKs) in the country, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to open more warehouses for the storage of Janaushadhi/ generic medicines in the country, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the steps being taken by the Government to ensure the availability of medicines at JAKs, so that the patients are not forced to buy branded medicines at higher prices;
- (d)  whether  the  imported  medicines  are  costlier  than  generic  medicines,  if  so,  the  reasons therefor;
- (e) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to make these medicines available on affordable prices; and
- (f) the steps taken/proposed to be taken to bring awareness and trust about the effectiveness of generic medicines among the poor people?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS (SHRI BHAGWANTH KHUBA)

- (a): Under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) implemented by the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI), a registered society under the aegis  of  the  Department  of  Pharmaceuticals,  a  medicine  is  priced  on  the  principle  of  a maximum of 50% of the average price of the top three branded medicines. Thus, the prices of Jan Aushadhi Medicines are cheaper at least by 50% and in some cases by 80% to 90% of the market price of branded medicines.
- (b):  Presently,  there  are  four  warehouses  at  Gurugram  (Haryana),  Chennai  (Tamil  Nadu), Guwahati (Assam) and Surat (Gujarat) supported by a strong network of 36 distributors spread all  across  the  country,  which  sufficiently  meets  the  demands  of  various  Jan  Aushadhi Kendras(JAKs).  PMBI  will  decide  on  opening  of  new  warehouses,  if  any,  based  on  its operational requirements.
- (c):  In order to ensure availability of medicines at more than 8900 Jan Aushadhi Kendras all across the country, an Information Technology (IT) enabled end-to-end supply chain system has been implemented in PMBJP. A Point of Sales (PoS) application for all Kendra owners

provides them easy access to procure medicines.  These are backed by SAP based inventory management system for demand forecasting. Further, sufficient availability of medicines has also been ensured in warehouses.

(d)  &  (e):  Prices  of  medicines  in  the  country  are  regulated/  monitored  by  the  National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) as per provisions of the Drugs Prices Control Order, 2013.  As indicated above, the prices of Jan Aushadhi Medicines are cheaper by 50% or more of the market price of branded medicines in the country. The government has opened more than 8,900 PMBJKs all across the country to make generic medicines available on affordable prices

(f): Department/ PMBI is spreading awareness about the scheme through advertisements in Print Media, Radio, TV & Cinema as well as Outdoor publicity like Hoardings, Bus Queue Shelter branding, Bus branding, Auto wrapping, etc. In addition, public is educated about the benefits of Jan Aushadhi generic medicines and the scheme through social media platforms like  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, etc. regularly.   PMBI also maintains a mobile application namely 'Janaushadhi Sugam', which is an important facility for the general public by providing a digital platform by virtue of which they can avail a host of user-friendly options like  -  locate  nearby  PMBJK  (direction  guided  through  Google  Maps),  search  Janaushadhi medicines, telephone numbers, etc. Further, Jan Aushadhi Diwas is celebrated every year on 7 th March for further dissemination and spreading awareness about the Scheme.

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