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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACEUTICALS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 5649
TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 27TH 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) – 381Support 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, anti-
allergic 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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