Government not phasing out free medicine scheme:- Rajendra Rathore
In an attempt to silence Opposition’s claims that the govt was phasing out free medicine and diagnostic test schemes, health minister Rajendra Rathore on Monday said that not only the budget for both the schemes has been increased for coming financial year, but the government has also taken steps to improve the quality of medicines being distributed under the schemes. While speaking at the Vidhan Sabha, Rajendra Rathore said the expenditure on free medicines was Rs 324.34 crore in 2013-14 but it has increased to Rs 417.50 crore by February this year. The number of people who benefited from the free diagnostic scheme was 1.54 crore in 2013-2014 and it has increased to 2.16 crore by February this year.“We have formulated a policy to ensure that medicines distributed to patients are of good quality. For this, we have introduced e-tendering. We have developed a system under which we procure medicine that are certified as WHO Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Also, we have developed a system to test the medicines we procure through proper process.
Rajendra Rathore |