Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the poor and needy have been able to save Rs 50,000 crore annually due to various health-related measures taken up by his Government like providing affordable medicines, healthcare and reducing the prices of medical devices. He was addressing the virtual conference on ‘Janaushadhi Week’ and dedicating 7,500th Janaushadhi Kendra at North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) in Shillong.
Jan Aushadhi Kendras were launched by the Modi Government in 2015 to provide affordable medicines. In a virtual address at the ‘Janaushadhi Week’ celebrated across the nation from March 1 to March 7 to create awareness about the ‘Jan Aushadhi’ scheme, the Prime Minister said it is helping countrymen living in tribal areas in the North East and the mountainous areas.
The Prime Minister, who also interacted with people from different parts of the country, further said, “It is clear from my discussion with people who run the Janaushadhi centres at every corner of the country and some of its beneficiaries, that this scheme is becoming a very big companion of poor and middle-class families. This scheme is becoming the medium of both service and employment”. Underlining the various steps taken up by his Government to make healthcare affordable to the poor and needy, he said prices of essential drugs as well as medical devices such as stents and knee implants have been reduced manifold.
“It has led to the saving of Rs 12,500 crore per year for the needy people. The Ayushman Bharat scheme is helping 50 crore people get Rs 5 lakh worth of treatment. Over 1.5 crore people have already taken this benefit. It is estimated that it has led to savings of around Rs 30,000 crore for people. “It means that if we collate the savings being affected by Janaushadhi, Ayushman Bharat and decline in prices of drugs and stents (medical devices) if we only take Government schemes in the health sector, then poor and middle-income groups are saving around Rs 50,000 crore per year,” the Prime Minister said.
To enhance medical education, he said before 2014, where there were about 55,000 MBBS seats in the country. In 6 years, it has been increased by more than 30,000. Similarly, in the PG seats — which used to be at 30,000 — more than 24,000 new seats have been added. The Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana aims to provide quality medicines at an affordable price. Sales in the financial year 2020-21 (up to March 4, 2021) have led to a total saving of around Rs 3,600 crore for citizens, as these medicines are cheaper by 50-90 per cent than market rates.