Mysuru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded Mysuru’s M.A. Darshan for recognising the  ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana’ (PMJAY) which has helped him (Darshan) reduce the expenses on buying the medicines  for his father by nearly 75 per cent.

The PM mentioned the Mysurean’s name in the monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme on All India Radio (AIR), in the 40th episode and first for the year 2018, yesterday (Jan.28). He said that Darshan from Mysuru wrote to him through MyGov app about his father’s treatment because of which he was undergoing an expenditure of Rs. 6,000 per month on medicines.

“Darshan was not aware of ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana’. But now he has begun purchasing medicines under this scheme and his expenses have been reduced by 75 per cent. He has expressed his wish that I mention this here so that it reaches the maximum number of people and they can benefit as well,” Prime Minister Modi said.

“With over 3,000 Jan Aushadhi Centres under PMJAY, medicines are available at 50 per cent to 90 per cent cheaper than branded drugs available in the market. This is making healthcare affordable and encouraging ‘Ease of Living’,” Modi stated.

The medicines certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) are only being sold at these centres. Hence, only quality medicines are available at affordable cost.

Speaking to Star of Mysore here this morning, Darshan, who is working at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Bengaluru, said that though he is a techie, he had not known the benefits of PMJAY and came to know about it only by chance in the beginning of this year.

“I was taking my child to get the polio vaccine administered when I noticed a big queue in front of a shop where people were buying medicines. I asked a person what this was about and he told about PMJAY. Then I went and Googled for the details and found that generic medicines were really cheap, safe and approved by WHO. So, my expenses for the medicines came down from Rs. 6,000 to about Rs.1,500 a month,” he said.

He said that since he had listened to the Prime Minister’s Mann Ki Baat programme a couple of times, he would share this information with the PM. “I wrote to the PM just about ten days back and was surprised to hear the PM mentioning my name yesterday. Though PMJAY was introduced quite some time back I came to know that cheaper generic medicines are available in Jan Aushad shops only now. If a techie like me who is on the internet all the time is not aware, imagine the plight of those who do not know anything. Hence, I took a chance and wrote to our Prime Minister,” he said.

Darshan’s father M.A. Purushotham is a priest, who had suffered a stroke in 2010. “Since the past seven years my medical expenses per month was Rs.6,000,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Minister S.A. Ramdas, in a press release, has stated that more than 14 lakh people in the city have been benefited by buying Rs.11 crore worth generic medicines.

“When I was the Medical Education Minister eight centres had been opened. Today there are more than 240 outlets in the State and 31 in Mysuru District. I, in my personal capacity, have encouraged youths both men and women to open 51 centres in the State and 27 centres in Mysuru itself,” he has claimed in the release.

Darshan from Karnataka shared how the Jan Aushadhi initiative provided him quality and affordable healthcare. He also wanted me to speak about this initiative, which I did during today’s #MannKiBaat. https://t.co/1RvKCMg0wb

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 28, 2018

Another Mysurean

It may be recalled that another Mysurean Santosh’s name was also mentioned by PM Modi in the 29th Mann Ki Baat programme. Santosh was the winner in the Lucky Grahak Yojana Scheme, introduced to promote cashless digital payments, where 15,000 people based on lucky draws are rewarded daily.

As a good Samaritan, Santosh had donated Rs.1,000 cash prize to a woman named Bhagyamma of Kumbarakoppal who lost her house due to  a gas leak.