The Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation Limited (RMSCL) has debarred two pharmaceutical firms for supplying not-of-standard quality (NSQ) drugs. While Himachal Pradesh based Symbiosis Pharmaceuticals Private Ltd has been debarred till October 18, 2015, the Gujarat based West Coast Pharmaceutical Works Ltd has been debarred till February 13, 2017. The firms are not entitled to participate in the bidding process till the stipulated period.

The particular batch of drug samples drawn by the drug inspectors were sent for testing to the State Drug Testing Lab at Jaipur and the information on the same has been shared with the respective state drug control offices where manufacturing units are located for further action, informed an official.

Under the Rajasthan Free Drug Distribution Scheme, patients visiting the government hospitals get the essential drugs free of cost and the procurement of drugs is done through RMSCL, a centralised procurement agency.

RMSCL has been entrusted with the procurement and distribution of drugs and medicines, surgical and suture items to the government medical institutions in Rajasthan. Main objectives of the agency are executing procurement of good quality drugs, surgical and sutures at reasonable prices in Rajasthan to meet the requirements of government medical and health institutions allowing healthy competition among pharmaceutical manufacturers, streamlining the distribution of drugs to institutions and ensuring availability of drugs at all times, strengthening the system of quality control over drugs procurement and distribution to make quality an essential attribute and further promote rational use of drugs.

Rajasthan has a total of 17,298 healthcare institutions including primary health centres (PHCs), community health centres (CHCs), sub centres and government hospitals.

The state has been providing free medicines under the Rajasthan Free Drug Distribution Scheme since its launch on October 2, 2011 through Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation (RMSC). The scheme has been able to address issues like insufficient supply of drugs at several places and shortage of doctors, para-medical staff and pharmacists mainly at the primary health centres in remote villages.

The scheme aims to provide essential medicines free, and the others practically free, to anyone walking into a government-run health institute. RMSC, formed to implement the scheme and steer the state towards a Right to Health, cites studies to point out that expenditure on medicines accounts for about 50 to 80 per cent of the total cost of treatment in India. As per the WHO, 65 per cent of the Indian population lacks regular access to essential medicines.

Officials say that since the scheme started, there has been a substantial increase in the number of girl children in the state (from 921 in 2001 to 928 in 2011, with the rise in urban areas being 890 to 914). They are even hopeful of the state’s sex ratio improving drastically as a result. At least 17 state governments and several countries including Nepal and Canada have also expressed interest in replicating it.