Providing affordable health infrastructure for a hugely populous country like India is an onerous task by any standard. But at present, GoI takes every challenge as a mission. Meticulous planning and initiatives taken have yielded results even beyond expectations. Starting in 2014 as Jan Aushadi Stores, rebranded in 2016 as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadi Pariyojana (PMBJP), the journey has been remarkable: from 80 stores to 8610 stores, from 7.29 crores in sales to 893.56 crores in sales, from a product basket of 300 to now 1866 medicines and 250 surgical instruments, and from one warehouse to four warehouses. By any standards, this is a real success story in the shortest time. The medicines available are 50 percent to 90 percent cheaper than commercially available branded medicines. All these medicines are WHO-GMP and NABL-certified, and in the last three years alone, 15,000 crores of public money have been saved through these Kendras.
Our own Jammu and Kashmir health infrastructure has transformed exceptionally. Around 350 health projects are in various stages of progress to give impetus to healthcare. In all, 227 Janaushadi Kendras have been opened in our UT, and to open 75 such Kendras in every district of UT is the target set by the LG Administration. Almost 32,000 patients are visiting these Janaushadi Kendras daily to get the benefits of affordable medicines. This one single scheme has changed the lives of many patients, and the interests of the poor are well taken care of in every respect.
Government hospitals are overburdened with months of waiting lists even for small surgeries, and doctor fees and operation charges in private hospitals are beyond the reach of the poor. GoI came out with a solution to this challenge as well. GoI introduced the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogaya Yojna (AB-PMJAY), launched in 2017, much to the relief of the whole population of India, with a commitment to leave no one behind. With this attempt, an attempt has been made to make a comprehensive, need-based healthcare system. The program covers poor specifically. It is heartening to see the poorest among the poor getting immediate medical facilities not only in Government hospitals but in private ones as well, at zero cost. One has to just walk in with an Ayushman Bharat card. It is indeed an achievement that four districts of our UT have 100 percent coverage and another four have 98 percent of their population covered under Ayushman Bharat in Jammu and Kashmir. As this service has been brought under PSGA, real efforts are being made in the other 12 districts to cover 100% of the population. Jammu and Kashmir stand overall in sixth place under the larger states category of the Health Index list of NITI Aayog. The introduction of e-SAHAJ, SEHAT, Tele-MANHAS, and various other steps have breathed new life into UT’s healthcare system.
The GoI and LG Administration got two AIIMS and the State Cancer Institute assigned to Jammu and Srinagar, and many GMCs have been opened. Plan for at least one in each district is there. The seats in existing medical colleges have been increased substantially and new PG streams added. This resulted in a big relief for the main hospitals of both Jammu as well as Srinagar. No doubt, the health sector of Jammu and Kashmir has improved by leaps and bounds. Every step of the LG Administration is to somehow provide healthcare services at the doorstep.
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