Govt says over 18,600 Jan Aushadhi Kendras providing low-cost medicines

Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister J P Nadda on Tuesday said that 18,646 Jan Aushadhi Kendras are currently operational across the country, providing generic medicines to people at affordable prices.

Replying to supplementary queries during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, Nadda said the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana was launched in 2008 by the UPA government, but only 80 Jan Aushadhi Kendras were opened till 2014.

He said the scheme has expanded significantly under the Modi government.

As on February 28, 2026, there are 18,646 Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country, he informed.

Out of these, 2,370 Jan Aushadhi Kendras have been set up in government hospitals to provide medicines at rates that are about 50-80 per cent cheaper than branded medicines.

“The product basket under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojna has 2,110 medicines and 315 surgical, medical consumables and devices, covering all major therapeutic groups, such as cardiovascular, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-infectives, anti-allergic and gastro-intestinal medicines and nutraceuticals,” Nadda said in a written reply.

He added that almost all generic medicines included in the National List of Essential Medicines, except lab reagents and vaccines, are part of the product basket.

Nadda said that to ensure accessibility and availability of medicines at Jan Aushadhi Kendras, an end-to-end information-technology-enabled supply chain system has been established, consisting of five warehouses and 41 distributors across the country.

According to information provided by the Ministry of Health, the government has rolled out the Free Drugs Service Initiative (FDSI) under the National Health Mission (NHM) to ensure availability of essential drugs and reduce the Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) of patients visiting public health facilities.

Under this initiative, financial support is provided to States and Union Territories for the provision of free essential medicines in public health facilities, based on requirements submitted in their Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) within their overall resource envelope.