Dear Reader, Universal health care is a goal which most nations are striving to achieve. Brazil can boast of showing the way - it is perhaps the only country today where any individual within Brazilian jurisdiction is deemed eligible to receive free, instant and complete healthcare without any formalities and covers treatments, surgeries and medicines. As far as medicines in India are concerned, the first Jan Aushadhi Kendra (Centre, Store) was set up in 2008 by the Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, with the active participation of central public sector undertakings. The Jan Aushadhi Plan received great impetus in 2016, when the Indian government decided to open 3000 stores during 2017. More than 8675 Jan Aushadhi Kendras were thriving across the country at the end of January 2022, covering all the 739 districts - with many of them providing self-employment, especially to women entrepreneurs. The government has set a target of 10,000 such Kendras by the March 2024, which appears to be easily realisable. Jan Aushadhi Week is celebrated across the country from 1~st to 7~th March every year, and the first Jan Aushadhi Store on an IIT campus was inaugurated very recently at IIT-lndore during its 13~th Foundation Day celebrations. The state of Uttar Pradesh has more than 1185 such Kendras, while a small state like Goa already has more than 10.
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