Amid Covid-19 lockdown, many Janaushadhi Kendras under the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers are accepting the orders for medicines on WhatsApp and e-mail on the basis of uploaded prescriptions and being delivered at the patient’s doorsteps.
The move is ensuring use of technology for facilitating easier procurement of medicines by the users at a time when Coronavirus scare has restricted their movement.
Complementing the Kendras initiative, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers DV Sadananda Gowda said, " it is heartening to note that many PMBJKs are using modern communication tools including social media plataforms like Whatsapp to provide better services in effecting faster delivery of essential medicines to the needy."
Janaushadhis are working under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana ( PMBJP). At present there are over 6,300 PMBJKs functioning in 726 districts of the country ensuring supply of quality medicines at affordable prices. These medicines are cheaper by about 50 per cent to 90 per cent on an average, said an official from the Ministry.
In April this year, around Rs 52 crore worth of medicine have been supplied throught the country.
In addition, supply arrangements with India Post has also been made for supply to remotely located stores, he added.
Moreover, Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India(BPPI) under Department of Pharmaceuticals, Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, has paid its vendors within due date for solving their working capital issues for raw material and logistics.
Dedicated Team has been created of BPPI Officers for every State to sort out bottlenecks in supply due to lockdown, said the official.
Jan Aushadhi warehouses are working at full capacity and inhouse residential arrangements have been made for staff while helpline numbers have been launched to resolve any issues of consumers and store owners.
For maintaining supply of essential Medicines during lock down period, BPPI has issued purchase orders for 178 fast moving medicines in April, 2020 worth Rs 186.52 crore.
