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 The Jan Aushadhi Kendras (JAKs), under the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP)’s flagship scheme of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP), has reported a growth of 43 per cent in sales of generic medicines at maximum retail price (MRP) value in the month of September, as compared to the sales in the same month a year ago.
According to data from DoP, the JAKs in the country have reported a total sales at MRP value of Rs. 201.61 crore in the month of September, 2024, as compared to Rs. 141.05 crore during the same month of previous year. Compared to the Rs. 110.92 crore sales registered in the previous month of August, 2024, sales in September have reported a growth of 81.8 per cent.
The savings to the common man from purchasing medicines from JAKs was Rs. 806.44 crore in September, as compared to Rs. 705.25 crore in the same month last year and Rs. 443.68 crore in August, 2024.
The Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI), the implementing agency of PMBJP, has set up 420 new JAKs during the month, and the total number of Kendras at the end of September, 2024 has gone up to 13,822 outlets. The total number of outlets during the same month a year ago was 9,996 Kendras.
The product basket under the PMBJP has also seen an increase from 1,965 medicines and 293 surgical products in September, 2023 to 2047 medicines and 300 surgical products in the same month, this year. The initially announced plans were to enhance the product basket of PMBJP upto 2,000 medicines and 300 surgical products by March, 2025.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on October 29, said that the country has launched more than 14,000 JAKs across the country and the poor and middle class have managed to save Rs. 30,000 crore due to availability of cheap medicines. Prices of devices like stents and knee implants have been reduced, therefore, preventing a loss of more than Rs. 80,000 crore by the common citizens
The Bureau earlier announced that it has opened more than 10,000 JAKs across the country towards the end of the year 2023, with prices almost 50-90 per cent less than that of branded medicines available in the open market. This was ahead of the target, as the plans were to open 10,000 JAKs by March, 2024.
The Central government also announced in 2023 its plans to increase the number of JAKs in the country from 10,000 to 25,000 by March 31, 2026.
According to the data from the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers, the total sales of Jan Aushadhi generic medicines in the first three months of the fiscal year 2024-25, till June, 2024, is Rs. 437.94 crore. In 2023-24, the total sales of JAKs were at Rs. 907 crore, as compared to Rs. 799.09 crore in 2022-23, Rs. 645.72 crore in 2021-22, Rs. 445.46 in 2020-21, and Rs. 313.59 crore in 2019-20.
The data submitted by the Ministry in the Lok Sabha in the recent session also shows that Kerala reported the highest sales through JAKs in the period from 2019-20 to the first quarter of 2024-25, at Rs. 630.96 crore, followed by Karnataka with Rs 563.95 crore sales, Uttar Pradesh with Rs. 524.51 crore sales, Tamil Nadu with Rs. 307.99 crore sales, and West Bengal with Rs. 228.24 crore sales.
Among the states, Chhattisgarh has shown a remarkable improvement in generic drug sales through JAKs, from Rs. 4.47 crore in 2021-22, Rs. 5.54 crore in 2022-23, Rs. 6.56 crore in 2023-24, to Rs. 34.17 crore in the first three months of 2024-25.
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