National Pharmacy Education Day observed at SRM College of Pharmacy
Govt. keen on increasing spread of Jan Aushadhi Medical Stores in India
KATTANKULATHUR
PHOTO CAPTIONS
[Dr. S.Kavimani, Professor and Head, Department of Pharmacology, Mother Teresa Post Graduate and Research Institute of Health Sciences, Puducherry, and member of Central Council of Pharmacy Council of India, speaking at Pharma Anveshan 2024 – National Pharmacy Education Day at SRM College of Pharmacy at Kattankulathur.]
The Government of India was keen on increasing the number of Jan Aushadhi Kendras (Government of India’s low cost drug outlets) in all parts of the country, especially in rural areas, Dr. S.Kavimani, Professor and Head, Department of Pharmacology, Mother Teresa Post Graduate and Research Institute of Health Sciences, Puducherry said recently.
Delivering his address at Pharma Anveshan 2024 – National Pharmacy Education Day at SRM College of Pharmacy at Kattankulathur, Dr. Kavimani said since its re-launch in 2015, the number of such outlets in India had now increased to more than 10,000, with the stores selling nearly 2,000 generic medicines, and nearly 300 medical equipment. With a huge discount enabling people to get medicines at rates 50 % to 80 % lower than drugs elsewhere, these outlets were a boon to people, especially those belonging to low-income groups, he added.
Dr. Kavimani, who is also State Government of Puducherry’s nominated member of the Central Council of Pharmacy Council of India, said that one of biggest stumbling blocks in expanding the coverage of Jan Aushadhi outlets was availability of land – especially in villages. To overcome this, the Government of India had decided to open such stores in Primary Agricultural Credit Societies – which were functional in nearly all villages and rural areas.
While the government would supply Rs. 2 lakh worth of drugs at the time of opening of these stores, an additional sum of Rs. 1.5 lakh would also be handed over to the owners for infrastructure development in the outlets, and this amount could be repaid later, Dr. Kavimani said.
To encourage qualified people to open such stores, the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India had approached Pharmacy Council of India to identify skilled pharmacists to open such stores. The Government of had several measures including subsidies to SC/STs, differently-abled, women, and widows to encourage people open such stores. The Council, along with Life Sciences Sector Skill Development Council has a skill development project for final year Pharmacy students and in addition, the Council also has plans for training programmes to upgrade pharmacy teachers.
Medicines were procured only from World Health Organisation – Good Manufacturing Practices (WHO-GMP) certified suppliers for ensuring safety and each batch of drugs was tested at National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration accredited laboratories, Dr. Kavimani pointed out.
The event was sponsored by Pharmacy Council of India on the occasion of Mahadeva Lal Schroff’s birth anniversary on the theme, “Leveraging Synergism: Industry – Academia Partnership for Implementation of National Education Policy.” Prof. Schroff is regarded as India’s founder of pharmacy and education.
Dr. V.Chitra, Dean, SRM College of Pharmacy, welcomed the gathering and leaders and executives of various pharma companies took part and spoke on the occasion.
******
