Jan Aushadhi Suvidha: Emerging Challenges

Profile of the Author: Arpita Prakash is a 2nd year Law student pursuing B.A. LL.B (Hons) from University Law College, Gauhati University.

Introduction

India is the largest supplier of generic drugs in the world. India also has two-third of its population living under poverty. The Indian pharmaceutical companies have been trying to reduce the cost of medicines; despite all the efforts, the marginalized population of the country doesn’t have much access to medications due to its high price. Hence, to ensure that everyone has equal access to medicines, Jan Aushadhi Suvidha was implemented, through the Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI).

What is Jan Aushadhi Suvidha?

Jan Aushadhi Suvidha is a scheme that was first launched in November 2008 with the main objective of providing affordable medications to every section of the population across the country. It was launched by the department of pharmaceuticals. Although the scheme was launched in 2008 it was not successful, by 2014 just 80 stores were functioning [1]. Again in 2015, the scheme was revamped as Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana (PMJAY), with an announced target of 3000 kendras. By December 2016, the target of 3000 kendras was achieved and the scheme was renamed as “Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana” (PMBJP). Till September 2019 more than 5600 kendras were functional across the country.

Objectives of PMBJP include:

1. Access to quality generic medicines to all sections of the population, especially for the poor ones.
2. Create awareness about generic medicines through education and publicity.
3. Create employment by encouraging individuals to open Jan Aushashi Kendra.

What are generic medicines?

Medicines are available under two names i.e. a generic name and a brand name. Generic medicines are unbranded medicines that are equally as safe as that of branded medicines in terms of their therapeutic value. However, there is no definition of generic or branded medicines under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945.

In other words, they are drugs that have the same chemical composition as branded drugs are and sold under their chemical name. For example, Paracetamol, a painkiller, is the generic name for branded drugs like Crocin and Calpol. The prices of generic medicines are much cheaper than their branded equivalent [2].

Sanitary Napkins

The debate of Sanitary napkins should be free of cost has always been a fresh topic of debate. In 2018 on the eve of World Environmental Day, 4th June 2018 the Government of India announced the launch of “Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Oxo-Biodegradable Sanitary Napkin” for women of India. It was a huge step taken by the government of India towards a greener future as the Sanitary Napkins are made with Oxo-Biodegradable material complying with the ASTM D-6954 (biodegradability test) standards and are environment friendly. Since the inception to 10th June 2020 over 4.61 crore sanitary Napkins have been sold at Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras. This was a step to ensure ‘Swachhta, Swasthya, and Suvidha’ for the underprivileged women of India. [3] It was again announced that the price of Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Oxo-Biodegradable Sanitary Napkin was reduced from Rs. 2.50 to Rs.1 per piece, to make it more affordable.

Tackling the Emerging Challenges

Despite the best efforts of the government in making the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana successful it initially did not make a big impact as it was expected to. There are some flaws in the scheme. The first and most important point is awareness. There is a lack of awareness amongst people, most of them don’t know about Jan Aushadhi Suvidha. Even if they are aware of it, they don’t trust the quality of medicines and Sanitary Napkins, they prefer branded medicines more. The second most alarming issue is the supply of medicines, most of the time people don’t get the medicines they want, due to less supply all the medicines are not available every time.

In the current pandemic situation, employees of BPPI, Kendra owners, Distributors, and others came forward to fight against the pandemic. BPPI is standing with its stakeholders and consumers in this challenging time as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendra (PMBJK) is functioning and maintaining regularly.

BPPI also stated that it is committed to ensuring the availability of essential medicines at Kendra. Kendras has the highest monthly sales of Rs. 52 Crore despite the lockdown in April 2020 and Rs. 42 Crore in March 2020. BPPI is maintaining the stock of medicines that are currently under demand. BPPI has sold about 10 lakh face masks, 50 lakh tablets of Hydroxychloroquine in March, and April 2020. PMBJK is now also undertaking doorstep delivery of medicines to patients and elderly people.  The mobile application ‘Janaushadhi Sugam’ becomes very popular and more than 4 lakh downloads took place. Keeping in mind the current situation and market demand, BPPI has also placed purchase orders of these medicines to have enough stocks for the next six months and have also supplied medicines to the Ministry of External Affairs for supplying to friendly countries. [4]

Conclusion

The Government of India has taken several significant steps for the betterment of the healthcare sector in India, especially to provide better healthcare to the poor section of the population of the country. Despite the issues of less supply and lack of awareness, the scheme has been growing and improving with the emerging challenges. Envisioning the current situation Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendra has also geared up their services. BPPI is creating awareness to fight against the pandemic through social media platforms and is playing an active role in the fight against the current crisis.

Disclaimer: This article is an original submission of the Author. Niti Manthan does not hold any liability arising out of this article. Kindly refer to our Terms of use or write to us in case of any concerns.

FAQs

Q. What are the statistics revolving around the use of sanitary napkins by women?

Ans. National Family Health Survey 2015-2016 estimates that of the 336 million menstruating women in India about 121 million (roughly 36 per cent) women are using sanitary napkins, locally or commercially produced.

References

[1] https://ehealth-eletsonline-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/ehealth.eletsonline.com/2019/11/how-pmbjp-providing-affordable-healthcare-to-all/amp/?usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D&amp_js_v=0.1#aoh=15980292681053&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fehealth.eletsonline.com%2F2019%2F11%2Fhow-pmbjp-providing-affordable-healthcare-to-all%2F

[2] https://www.iastoppers.com/28th-august-2019-current-affairs-analysis-iastoppers/

[3] https://vajiramias.com/current-affairs/jan-aushadhi-suvidha-sanitary-napkin/5eeae1441d5def17af6fa1c6/

[4] https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1628291