Jan Aushadhi Yojana was first stated in the year 2008 under the leadership of Congress Government. The first Jan Aushadhi Store was opened on 25th November, 2008 with the participation and aid of Central Public Sector Undertakings like, IDPL, HAL, and BPC etc.
The first store was set up at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. Gradually the campaign started expanding as more than 45 stores were launched in states like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Punjab etc.
The scheme was carried forward by the BJP Government and the Finance Minister at the time of presenting the Budget for the year 2016-17 in the Parliament has made a special speech in which he mentioned the PMBJP saying that, “Making quality medicines available at affordable prices has been a key challenge.
We will reinvigorate the supply of generic drugs. 3,000 stores under the Prime Minister’s Jan Aushadhi Yojana will be opened during 2017”.
What is Jan-Aushadhi Yojana?
Jan Aushadhi Yojana is another name for Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP). The Yojana was started by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the year 2014 for providing costly and quality medicines at affordable prices for those who cannot afford the same.
The Campaign for Jan Aushadhi Yojana was started by the Department of Pharmaceuticals which supported to provide quality medicines at affordable prices. There are certain stores which are established for the purpose of providing generic medicines at lesser prices.
The generic medicines which are available in these stores are of same quality and efficiency as that of other expensive medicines.
Vision of PMBJP
In India, the useful branded medicines are sold at a price which is beyond the capacity of the pocket of a poor or middle class man. With wide spread poverty, these branded medicines are beyond the scope of many.
Therefore, the government of India has started this Yojana with a vision to cut down the healthcare budget of individuals by providing the generic medicines at affordable prices which could be purchased by everyone.
Mission of PMBJP
With this Yojana, the government wants to spread awareness among the citizen about the generic medicines. The medical practitioners are also encouraged to write these medicines in their prescription which would in turn increase the demand of the generic medicines.
The Government is spreading awareness via education that high prices of generic medicines do not mean high efficiencies. The government is also trying to bring all the important medicines covering all therapeutic groups and other health care products under the umbrella of this Yojana.
Objectives of Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana
The government is trying to make medicines of good quality available to all the citizens. The government wants to improve the quality of life through the supply of quality medicines by the CPSU supplies. They government will get more than 500 medicines under this Yojana.
The government ensures that the medicines will be tested before they go for sale. The medicine should be of prescribed standards and safety. They government has provided around Rs. 35 Crore from its budget for the outlay of Jan Aushadhi Stores. PMBJP makes good quality of medicines available to the poor and disadvantage section of society and also to the rich.
It creates awareness amongst the people about the generic medicines and their potential which is opposite to its lower prices. It also encourages doctors to add these medicines in their prescription. The expense on the chromic ailment would reduce. The stores will be established in every city and also in the government hospitals.
The government aims to open 300 Jan Aushadhi Stores, from which 164 stores are already opened out of which 87 are functioning. The store keepers will get the medicines at a discount of 16% which will be profit for them. Therefore, the ultimate aim of the government is to uplift the standard of healthcare by providing medicines at lower rates which are accessible to every section of the society.
Why PMBJP?
The Yojana was established for making the available quality medicines at affordable prices particularly to the poor and the disadvantage section of the society. Many Jan Aushadhi Medical stores have been opened to provide medicines to the people who demands so. This will reduce out the pocket expenses of the medical budge of an individual.
The Jan-Aushadhi Yojana Stories
The Jan Aushadhi stores can be opened throughout the country and the normal working hours of the Jan Aushadhi stores are 8 am to 8 pm. All kinds of medicines are available here with their Maximum Retail Price. Along with the medicines these stores also provide surgical items supplied by BPPI.
They also provide the medicines which are available at general pharmacist stores to improve the viability of running these stores. The products which are not under the Yojana could be purchased without a prescription but for getting those medicines and items which are mention under the list, a prescription from a doctor is much needed.
The government has taken due care about the safety and quality standards of the medicines which are provided by these stores. They ensure that each batch of medicines procured from different suppliers is tested from NABL approved laboratories and conforming to the standards.
Any person including the state government, reputed NGOs/ trusts/ private hospitals / charitable institutions/ doctors/ unemployed pharmacist etc can apply for opening a Jan Aushadhi Store.
What are Generic Medicines?
These are the medicine which has the same chemical composition as same as the branded medicines which are available at higher prices.
The generic medicines are available at lesser price as compared to the branded ones because they are without any brand name. It is supposed that when a generic medicine enters the market at a low cost, then the cost of the medicines tends to fall.
Advantages of PMBJP
The Jan Aushadhi Yojana will make available quality medicines at reasonable prices which will help the poor in getting better health care standards. The advantages of PMBJP are as follows:
- Awareness: It provides awareness among people about generic medicines and how effective they are and the price of the medicines, which is very less than the branded ones.
- Cost-Effective Medicines: The government aims to provide cost-effective medicines through public-private partnerships.
- Encourage Doctors: The scheme encourages doctors to assists the patient in getting generic medicines and tell them the benefits of the same and how effectively they are working.
- Enable Saving: With the help of this Yojana, the government tries to minimize the health budget of an individual. This will help the poor who are unable to bear health expenses.
Drawbacks of PMBJP
The government is trying hard to implement the Yojana properly, but, there are certain drawbacks of the same. They are as follows:
- The government is trying are to make people aware of this Yojana but the people are still unaware of the benefits and the standards of generic medicines. They go for the branded medicines which have the same composition as in the generic ones. They believe that more money means more effectiveness but this is not the same. This lack of awareness is a hurdle for the government.
- The states also run their own schemes for providing medicines at reasonable prices or even free of cost. This makes the state government promote their own schemes neglecting what the center is trying to do for the entire nation.
- The doctors are under the influence of private dealers and branded companies and therefore they do not prescribe the generic medicines as the doctors earn profits by prescribing the branded ones.
- The supply chain management does not function well. There are certain medicines which the patient demands but are not present in the stores because of the malfunctioning of the supply chain.
- There are only a few Jan Aushadhi stores over large population. There are many stores which are opened but only a few of them are functioning. Therefore, finding these stores everywhere is very difficult.
Importance of PMBJP
The Yojana is believed to change the principles of production, retail and trade. The list has been prepared which covers wide range of medicines under it. These include those for the chronic diseases.
With this, the Indian Parma Companies rank among the top performers in the global generic market, supplying effective and save medicines at a very less cost.
This scheme not only benefits the poor but the rich also. But the need of today is that the people should be aware of what generic medicines really are and how they can cure a person without damaging the pocket.