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GOVERNMENTOFINDIA
MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE
DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 3254
TO BE ANSWERED ON07.08.2026
SHORTAGEOFESSENTIALMEDICINES
†3254. SHRISATPALBRAHAMCHARI:
SHRIJAI PARKASH:
SHRISANATAN PANDEY:
Will the Ministerof HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate:
(a) whether it is a fact that many essential medicines prescribed by doctors in Government
hospitals and health centres inthe Sonipat, Hisar and Ballia Parliamentary Constituencies are
not available in the hospitals thereby forcing patients to purchase them from private medical
stores, if so, the detailsthereof;
(b) the details of funds sanctioned, released and spent under the National Health Mission for
the Sonipat, Hisar and Ballia Parliamentary Constituencies during the last three years along
with the detailsof the health facilitiesstrengthened thereby;
(c) the major reasons for the shortage of essential medicines in Government hospitals along
with the steps taken by the Government to ensure the regular availability of essential
medicines in Government hospitals, strengthen the drug supply chain and digitally monitor
drug stocks; and
(d) whether the Government is formulating any action plan for a permanent solution to this
problem by providing additional budget, improving drug storage capacity and enhancing
supply mechanismsandif so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND
FAMILYWELFARE
(SHRIPRATAPRAO JADHAV)
(a) to (d): ‘Public Health and Hospitals’ are state subject. However, under the National
Health Mission (NHM), financial & technical support is provided to the States/Union
Territories (UTs) for strengthening their healthcare delivery system including support for
provision of free essential medicines in public health facilities based on the requirements
posed by States/UTs including Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in their ProgrammeImplementation Plans (PIPs) within their overall resource envelope. The details of the
approvals given to the States of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are available at website of
Ministry of HealthandFamily Welfareat the Uniform Resources Locator(URL) asunder:
https://www.nhm.gov.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=1&sublinkid=1377&lid=744
The details of Central release under the National Health Mission (NHM) during last
three financialyear tothe Stateof Haryana andUttar Pradeshare asfollows:
(Rs. In Crore)
State 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26
Central Expenditure Central Expenditure Central Expenditure
Release Release Release
Haryana 524.01 1,221.41 562.49 1,127.06 636.01 1,402.07
Uttar 4,928.14 10,572.60 5,853.43 10,377.16 5,686.12 11,069.32
Pradesh
Note:TheabovereleasesrelatetoCentralGovt.Grants&donotincludeStatesharecontribution.
The Government of Uttar Pradesh has informed that Hospitals under the Ballia
Parliamentary constituency have adequate availability of medicines in accordance with the
Essential Drugs List (EDL) and the prescribed norms. All doctors have beeninstructed not to
prescribe medicinesfrom outside sources topatients.
To ensure availability of essential drugs and reduce the Out-of-Pocket Expenditure
(OOPE) of the patients visiting the public health facilities, Government of has rolled out the
Free Drugs Service Initiative (FDSI) under NHM. The Ministry has recommended facility
wise Essential MedicinesList (EML) tobe made availableat the public healthcare facilities.
Under Free Drugs Service Initiative (FDSI), Government of India supports
procurement of drugs and strengthening 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 procurementandavailability of essential medicines.
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