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New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed ‘Janaushadhi Diwas’ celebrations through video conference. He dedicated to the nation the 7,500th Janaushadhi Kendra at NEIGRIHMS, Shillong, Meglaya, during the event. He interacted with beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana. Stakeholders were recognised by the Prime Minister for their excellent work.
The Prime Minister interacted with beneficiaries, Kendra Sanchalak, Jan Aushadhi Mitras at five locations i.e. Shimla, Himachal Pradesh; Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh; Ahmedabad, Gujarat; Maruthi Nagar, Diu ,and Mangalore, Karnataka. Interacting with the beneficiaries, he requested them to adopt a healthy lifestyle. He told them that due to affordability, patients are taking the required medicine leading to better health outcomes. He praised the youth promoting the Janaushadhi movement and asked them to help in the ongoing vaccine drive. He asked the beneficiaries to spread the word about the benefits of Janaushadhi. He said, “you are my family and your ailment is ailment of my family members, that is why, I want all my countrymen to stay healthy.”
PM Modi noted that the Janaushadhi Yojana is becoming a big friend of poor and middle class families. It is becoming the medium of both service and employment. Dedication of 7,500th centre of Janaushadhi at Shillong is an indication of spread of Janaushadhi Centers in the Northeast. The scheme is providing affordable medicine to people in hilly areas, Northeast and tribal areas, he said. He said that dedication of 7,500th center is important as there were not even 100 centres in India six years ago. He asked to achieve the target of 10,000 centers. He said that the scheme is promoting Aatamnirbharta among women as more than 1,000 centers are being run by the women. The PM remarked that in order to promote the scheme, incentive has been enhanced from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh with additional incentive of Rs2 lakh for Dalit, Aadivasi women and people of the Northeast.
The Prime Minister noted that the demand for India made medicine and surgery has increased. Production is also increasing to keep up with the increasing demand. A large number of employment opportunities are also being created. He said that now 75 AYUSH medicine are also available in Jan Aushadhi centers, according to a PIB release.
The Prime Minister said that for a long time, government treated health only as a subject of just disease and treatment. However, the topic of health is not confined to just disease and treatment but affects the economic and social fabric of the country. He said that d out, for a holistic approach to health, the Government has worked on the causes of disease too. He cited Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, free LPG connections, Ayushman Bharat, Mission Indradhanush, Poshan Abhiyan and recognition to yoga to illustrate the holistic nature of the Government approach towards health. The Prime Minister touched upon the UN recognition of year 2023 as International Year of Millets. He stressed the need to promote coarse grain as it will not only provide nutritious food grain but will also add to the income of the farmers.
Pointing out the enormous burden of medical treatment on the poor families, the Prime Minister said that in the recent years, efforts are being made to remove all types of discrimination in the treatment and medical treatment has been made accessible to every poor person of the country. For this, prices of essential medicine, heart stents, knee surgery related equipment have been reduced manifold, he said. . He said Ayushman Yojana has ensured free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh, for the country’s more than 50 crore poor families. So far more than 1.5 crore people have taken advantage of it and saved about Rs 30,000 crore.
The Prime Minister lauded the scientist for the Made in India Corona vaccine and said, today India has vaccine not only for local use but also for helping the world. The vaccination is free in the government hospitals and private hospitals are charging just Rs 250, which is the lowest in the world, he added.