I feel very happy after talking to our beloved Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Being a common man, I had never thought of ever getting a chance to interact with him, said a visibly elated Suresh Chandra Behera, a Bhubaneswar resident, a Jan Aushadhi beneficiary, following his brief virtual interaction with the PM.
The public interaction was the Prime Minister’s way to commemorate the ‘Jan Aushadhi Day’ on Monday.
Prime Minister Modi wanted to know from Suresh the medicines the latter was getting from the Jan Aushadhi center and whether he was still buy some drug from other places. In his reply, Suresh said medicines for all diseases, from diabetes, blood pressure to skin problems are available at the Jan Aushadhi center and he never bought medicines from outside.
Suresh was all smiles while replying to the PM’s queries. Seeing his beaming face, the Prime Minister said, “This is your strength and can encourage others.”
Notably, the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, launched Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) in November, 2008 to provide quality medicines at affordable price to people. Since then, Jan Aushadhi Day is celebrated on March 7, every year.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Bishweswar Tudu said if the Central government medicine scheme could expand with help from state governments, people would be immensely benefitted.
Elaborating on the Yojana, Bhubaneswar MP (BJP) Aparajita Sarangi said a total of 8,675 Jan Aushadhi centres are functioning across the nation. “The most important feature of these centres is that the medicines sold here are 50 to 90 per cent cheaper than those sold at other stores,” the Parliamentarian said.