Lok Sabha Question No. 275 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-21
Subject: Monitoring of Sale of Medicines under PMJAK
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Rajveer (Raju Bhaiya) Singh, Bhola Singh, Raja Amareshwara Naik

## GOVERNMENT OFINDIA MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS DEPARTMENTOFPHARMACEUTICALS

LOKSABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 275 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21 st July, 2023

## Monitoring of Sale of Medicines under PMJAK

## 275. SHRI RAJVEER SINGH (RAJU BHAIYA): SHRI RAJA AMARESHWARANAIK: SHRI BHOLASINGH:

Will the Minister of CHEMICALSANDFERTILIZERS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has received complaints of malpractices (including the sale of other generic medicines at higher prices) by the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendras (PMJAKs) of Delhi;
- (b) if so, the details thereof alongwith the action taken thereon including cancellation of licenses during the last two years, State/UT-wise including Delhi;
- (c) whether the Government has any mechanism to supervise and monitor the functioning/sale of Generic Medicines through the PMJAKs in the country, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether the Government is proposing to conduct performance analysis of these PMJAKs by the data of their sale-purchase transactions of prescribed Generic medicines and other medicines, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the other remedial steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government for strict compliance of rules and regulations of Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendras in order to ensure the availability of medicines at affordable and justified price to the public?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b): The scheme, viz., Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) is implemented by the Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI), a society under the aegis of Department of Pharmaceuticals. In case of complaints of malpractices, including sale of other generic medicines at higher prices, PMBI takes strict action against defaulting Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs). PMBI has issued Show Cause Notices (SCN) in about 1600 instances all across the country for various lapses during the last two financial years. After investigation of the complaints, necessary action such as issuance of warnings to defaulting PMBJKs have been taken by PMBI, wherever required.

(c): PMBI has implemented 'Point of Sale' software application at all PMBJKs. This system allows to sell only generic medicines, supplied by the PMBI. Moreover, PMBJKs are periodically inspected by the Marketing Officers of PMBI to eliminate the possibilities of any misconduct.

(d) & (e): A study for 'Improving Effectiveness of Jan Aushadhi Stores' was commissioned by the Department in January, 2019. Taking into consideration the recommendations made in the Study Report, the Scheme was revised and approved by the Standing Finance Committee (SFC). In order to ensure sufficient availability of medicines at all Kendras, PMBI has set up a strong network of four warehouses and 36 distributors all over the country. All warehouses have SAP based inventory management system and the demand forecasting is done through the said system so as to place orders as per the desired inventory levels. Further, an Information Technology (IT) enabled End-to-End supply chain system with Point-of-Sale (POS) application for value added services has been implemented to ensure availability of medicines. PMBI does continuous evaluation of PMBJKs based on their sale performance and other parameters.

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