Parliament Question: Quality of Generic Medicines

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3286 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07THAUGUST, 2026 QUALITYOFGENERIC MEDICINES †3286.SMT.SANJNAJATAV:

DR. RAJKUMAR SANGWAN:

SHRIRAHULKASWAN:

Will the Minister of HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFARE be pleased tostate:

(a) whether the Government has conducted any study regarding the present status of prescribing generic medicines by the Government and private medical practitioners along with the proportion of patients purchasing medicines from JAKs, State-wise particularly in the BharatpurParliamentary Constituency of Rajasthan, if so, the detailsthereof;

(b) whether several patients still have misconception and mistrust regarding the quality of generic medicines in the said district, if so, the details thereof along with the concrete steps takenbythe Government toenhance public trust inthisregard; and

(c) whether the Government proposes to effectively integrate the Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana with Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB- PMJAY), Government hospitals, e-health systems and digital prescription mechanisms, district-wise particularly in the said constituency, if so, the detailsthereof? ANSWER THE MINISTEROFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SMT. ANUPRIYAPATEL)

(a) to (c): Clause 1.5 of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 provides that every physician should prescribe drugs with generic names legibly and preferably in capital letters and he/she shall ensure that there is a rational prescription and use of drug. Further, the Directorate General of Health Services has instructed vide order dated 12.05.2023 that all doctors in Central Government hospitals, CGHS WellnessCentresandpolyclinics prescribe generic medicines.

JanAushadhi Kendras(JAKs)areretailoutletsselling medicinesdirectlytothecustomers.An estimated 15 lakh citizens visit the JAKs located across the entire country on a daily basis.

State/UT-wise details of sale under Jan Aushadhi Scheme during F.Y. 2025-26 is available at Annexure. Separate data on the number of beneficiaries availing medicines from JAKs in BharatpurParliamentary Constituency of Rajasthan isnot maintainedcentrally.Stringent measures as specified below are in place to ensure that the medicines supplied

through Jan Aushadhi Kendras meetstandards: i. Medicines are procured only from suppliers certified for World Health Organization – Good Manufacturing Practices(WHO-GMP). ii. Each batch of drugs supplied under the scheme is tested at laboratories accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories(NABL) and only after passing quality tests, medicines are dispatchedtoJan Aushadhi Kendras.

iii. Quality audit of the facilities of vendors is routinely done by the Pharmaceuticals andMedical DevicesBureauof India.

To promote acceptability and to increase sale of medicines supplied through JAKs, targeted awareness campaignsabout the benefits of Janaushadhi medicines are conducted ona regular

basis:  Multi-channel awareness campaigns: Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI) conducts regular awareness campaigns through print, television, radio, social media, outdoor publicity, and community outreach in collaboration with organizations such as the Central Bureau of Communication, PIB, MyGov, and MY Bharat topromote the benefits of Jan Aushadhi medicines.

 Citizen outreach and stakeholder engagement: Awareness is enhanced through WhatsApp chatbots, outbound calls, Jan Aushadhi Week activities (including health camps, rallies, seminars, and public engagement programmes), and audio/video messages from eminent public representatives and doctors to build trust and dispel mythsabout the qualityof Jan Aushadhi medicines.

 Focused rural outreach: Special campaigns in rural areas, including health camps, nukkad-natak, audiovisual displays at Common Service Centres, and workshops in local languages in association with Jan Aushadhi Kendras (JAKs), are conducted to improve awareness, acceptability, anduptake of Jan Aushadhi medicines.

Also, a mobile application “Jan Aushadhi Sugam” is a facility for the general public that provides a digital platform to avail user-friendly services like- locating nearby JAK, availability of Janaushadhi medicines, product comparison of generic vs branded medicine in the form of MRP saving, etc. The Jan Aushadhi Sugam App has been onboarded on the Arogya Setu2.0platform of the AB-PMJAY.

Further, under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), eligible beneficiary families are provided cashless health insurance coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. The Health Benefit Packages

(HBPs) notified under the scheme are comprehensive bundled packages that cover the entire continuum of treatment, including pre-hospitalization expenses for up to 3 days, hospitalization costs such as diagnostics, medicines, implants (where applicable), and consumables, as well as post-hospitalization care for up to 15 days, including medicines and follow-up consultations.

******Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.

3286foranswer on07.08.2026.

Annexure State/UT-wisedetailsofsaleunderJanAushadhiSchemeDuringF.Y.2025-26 Sl. Sales Name of theState/UT No. (inRs. Crore) 1 AndamanAndNicobarIslands 0.00 2 AndhraPradesh 1.44 3 ArunachalPradesh 0.28 4 Assam 2.37 5 Bihar 68.91 6 Chandigarh 20.90 7 Chhattisgarh 276.01 8 Delhi 59.06 9 Goa 0.02 10 Gujarat 46.83 11 Haryana 1.98 12 HimachalPradesh 7.74 13 JammuAndKashmir 69.37 14 Jharkhand 146.94 15 Karnataka 213.81 16 Keralam 274.61 17 Ladakh 0.00 18 Lakshadweep 0.00 19 MadhyaPradesh 36.00 20 Maharashtra 24.31 21 Manipur 10.81 22 Meghalaya 0.84 23 Mizoram 0.20 24 Nagaland 0.26 25 Odisha 31.85 26 Puducherry 0.12 27 Punjab 67.97 28 Rajasthan 94.11 29 Sikkim 0.00 30 TamilNadu 188.98 31 Telangana 32.42 32 DadraandNagarHaveliandDamanandDiu 0.00 33 Tripura 2.29 34 UttarPradesh 320.71 35 Uttarakhand 96.48 36 WestBengal 154.59 Total 2252.21