Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday dedicated the 7,500th Janaushadhi Kendra at North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) in Shillong to the nation on Sunday.
“Medicines are expensive, that’s why we’ve PM ‘Jan Aushadhi ‘ yojana for the poor which saves their money. I urge people to buy medicines at affordable cost from ‘Modi ki Dukaan’ (as people like to call it),” the Prime Minister said. “The PM Janaushadhi Pariyojana is being run across the country for poor and middle-income families. This yojana is a medium of seva (service) and rozgar (employment) as it also provides employment opportunities to the youth. As part of the scheme, sanitary pads for girls available at ₹2.5,” said PM Modi.
He also added, “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’s remarks came while he was addressing Janaushadhi Diwas celebrations and interacting with beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana through video conferencing.
While speaking to the Prime Minister, Rubina, from Madhya Pradesh, shared her experience of benefitting from Janaushadhi Yojana.
“My son has some medical issues. I used to buy ₹5,000 medicines for him per month and could not afford it. But my neighbour told me about affordable medicines available at ‘Modi ji ki dukaan’. I went there and purchased medicines for ₹2,000 only. I am happy that Modi ji is helping us,” she said.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), in order to create more awareness about ‘Jan Aushadhi’, an entire week – from March 1 to March 7 – is being celebrated as ‘Jan Aushadhi Week’ across the nation, with the theme of ‘Jan Aushadhi – Seva bhi, Rozgar bhi’.
