Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah and Union Chemicals and Fertilizers & Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya address National Mega Conclave on “PACS as Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra”

The benefits of the decision to allow PACS to open Jan Aushadhi Kendras will not only be accessed by the cooperative societies but will flow down to the lowest strata of the community: Shri Amit Shah

“Union Government has substantially reduced over-the-counter cost of buying medicines by the expanding the network of Jan Aushadhi Kendras and ensuring the availability of diverse high-quality medicines in these centres”

Opening Jan Aushadhi Kendras through PACS would strengthen PACS as a cooperative organisation besides expanding the reach of quality and affordable medicines in the country: Dr Mandaviya

“More than 10,500 Jan Aushadhi Kendras are operating in the country which are providing more than 1,965 high-quality medicines and 293 surgical and other products at 50 to 90 percent of the cost of branded medicines available in the market”

Shri Amit Shah, Union Minister for Home Affairs and Cooperation and Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers & Health and Family Welfare addressed the National Mega Conclave on “PACS as Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra”, here today. Shri B L Verma, Minister of State, Ministry of Cooperation was also present.

The conclave was organised with the motto “Sahakar – se – Samriddhi” to highlight the major initiatives taken by the Ministry of Cooperation and progress achieved so far. As per the new model byelaws adopted by the Ministry of Cooperation, the scope of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) has been widened beyond their original function of dealing with agricultural credits in the grassroot level. PACS are now empowered to access many other avenues like opening of Jan Aushadhi Kendras.

Shri Amit Shah highlighted that “the benefits of the decision to allow PACS to open Jan Aushadhi Kendras will not only be accessed by the cooperative societies but will flow down to the lowest strata of the community”. He pointed out that in the last 9 years, approximately Rs. 26,000 crores of poor people’s money have been saved through the Jan Aushadhi Kendras. Generic medicines are available at 50-90% of market prices at these Kendras, ensuring affordable healthcare.

Shri Amit Shah also shed light on other important initiatives of the Union Government like the Ayushman Bharat initiative, Mission Indradhanush, Jal Jeevan Mission, Digital Health, Malaria Elimination Mission, TB Mukt Bharat Initiative etc. He said that these initiatives have transformed the healthcare landscape of the country. He highlighted that besides improving healthcare infrastructure in the country through PM-ABHIM and providing free health insurance for the poor through AB-PMJAY, the government has also substantially reduced the over-the-counter cost of buying medicines by the expanding the network of Jan Aushadhi Kendras and ensuring the availability of diverse high-quality medicines in these centres. “Medicines for dialysis that costs Rs. 65 are available for only Rs. 5 in Jan Aushadhi Kendras”, he stated.