Lok Sabha Question No. 5649 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-27
Subject: Availability of Essential Medicines in Government Hospitals
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Shri Sunil Kumar

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 5649 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 27 TH  MARCH 2026

## Availability of Essential Medicines in Government Hospitals

## †5649. Shri Sunil Kumar:

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

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  assessed  the  availability  of  essential  medicines  in Government hospitals, if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  the  number  of  functional  centres  under  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Bhartiya  Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) providing affordable medicines in Bihar;
- (c) whether there is any proposal to open new centres in Narkatiaganj and Bagaha of West Champaran district of Bihar, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether there is a proposal to include additional categories of medicines under the said scheme; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN  THE MINISTRY  OF  CHEMICALS  AND FERTILIZERS

(SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL)

(a): As per information provided by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) to ensure availability of essential drugs and reduce the Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) of the patients visiting the public health facilities, Government has rolled out the Free Drugs Service  Initiative  (FDSI)  under  National  Health  Mission  (NHM).    Under  this,  financial support is provided to States / Union Territories for provision of free essential medicines in public  health  facilities  based  on  the  requirements  posed  by  them  in  their  Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) within their overall resource envelope.

MoH&FW has recommended facility wise Essential Medicines List (EML) including drugs for cancer treatment to be made available at the public healthcare facilities:

Sub Health Centre Health & Wellness Centre (SHC-HWCs) - 106 Primary Health Centre Health & Wellness Centre (PHC-HWCs) - 172 Community Health Centres (CHCs) - 300 Sub-District Hospital - 318 District Hospital (DHs) - 381

Support under the scheme is available for Procurement of drugs and strengthening /setting up robust systems of procurement, Quality Assurance, Supply chain management and warehousing, Prescription  audit,  grievance  redressal,  dissemination  of Standard Treatment Guidelines and Establishment of IT enabled platform DVDMS (Drugs & Vaccine Distribution Management  System)  for  monitoring  the  real  status  of  procurement  and  availability  of essential  medicines.  To  facilitate  the  monitoring  of  supply  chain  management  activity  at National level, a Central Dashboard has been developed. Few states have implemented the roll out of the DVDMS portal till Sub health centres while many others are attempting to do so for the successful monitoring of the real status of procurement and availability of essential medicines.

Furthermore, under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana of Department  of  Pharmaceutical,  Ministry  of  Chemical  &  Fertilizer  a  total  of  18,646  Jan Aushadhi Kendras (JAKs) have been opened across the country as on 28.02.2026, out of which 2,370, Jan Aushadhi Kendras has been opened specifically in Government hospitals to provide  medicines  at  rates  that  are  about  50%  to  80%  cheaper  than  those  of  branded medicines.

(b): A total of 1127 Jan Aushadhi Kendras are opened in the State of Bihar as on 28.02.2026 for providing affordable medicines under the Scheme.

(c): Total 23 applications (09 in Narkatiagant and 14 in Bagaha) have been received from West Champaran  district  of  Bihar.    These  Kendras  are  established  and  made  functional  after obtaining initial approval from Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI) and obtaining of requisite license from State Drug Licensing Authorities.

The Government has adopted a franchise-like model for opening of JAKs by inviting online applications from individual entrepreneurs, non-governmental organisations, societies, trusts,  firms,  private  companies,  etc.  Any  individual  having  D.  Pharma.  or  B.  Pharma. qualification  either  herself/himself  or  any  individual  or  organisation  who  has  employed  a person  with  such  qualification  as  a  pharmacist  for  obtaining  drug  licence  from  the  State Licensing Authority concerned is eligible to open a Jan Aushadhi Kendra.  Online applications have been invited from all districts of the country, including West Champaran district, Bihar through the website www.janaushadhi.gov.in.

(d) and (e): The product basket under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Yojna has 2,110  medicines  and  315  surgicals,  medical  consumables  and  devices,  covering  all  major therapeutic  groups,  such  as  cardiovascular,  anti-cancer,  anti-diabetic,  anti-infectives,  antiallergic  and  gastro-intestinal  medicines  and  nutraceuticals.  Almost  all  generic  medicines included in the National List of Essential Medicines, except lab reagents and vaccines, are part of the product basket.

The product basket has been reviewed from time to time by a committee to evaluate the market demand of existing and newly launched/off-patent medicines, based on feedback and analysis from JAKs, citizens and market reports.

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