27% rise in Centre's funds to states for free drugs

There is a quantum jump of 27% in the first seven months of the current financial year in government's funds for free drugs and supplies to states.

This was stated by Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

Azad said from a total of Rs 1,540.39 crore of central funds to supplement states' efforts in providing free drugs and medicines, the government has provided Rs 1,961.64 crore to states under the scheme upto October in the current fiscal 2013-14. "To supplement efforts of states, government of India has been providing free drugs/funds for free drugs to states/UTs under the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) and National Disease Control Programme for Tuberculosis, vector-borne diseases including malaria, leprosy and HIV/AIDS etc. Government is also encouraging the states/UTs to provide universal access to free essential medicines in public health facilities by providing funds and incentives under the National Health Mission (NHM)," said the Minister.

While the maximum funds to the tune of Rs 294.27 crore were approved for Maharashtra, followed by Rs 262.21 crore to Uttar Pradesh, the Centre provided Rs 186.94 crore to Rajasthan, that had gone to polls recently, during the first seven months of the current fiscal. Rajasthan was given only Rs 50.67 crore during 2012-13.

However, these do not include the cost of drugs of tuberculosis, malaria, leprosy, HIV/AIDS and vaccines under routine immunisation and pulse polio immunisation procured by the Centre for supply to states on which a total of Rs 1,000 crore are spent, Azad said.