India committed to delivering top-quality drugs: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

New Delhi, August 20

India is dedicated to providing affordable, high-quality drugs and contribute to global accessibility to quality medicines, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Sunday even as his counterpart from The Netherlands hailed Indian drugs as life-saving close on the heels of some red flags over cough syrups exported from India.

Mandaviya was delivering a keynote address to the Indian industry leaders in pharmaceuticals, and G20 ministers and delegates, on the sidelines of the G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting in Gandhinagar.

“Our vision is clear, our goals are ambitious and our determination is unyielding,” he said adding that India had been supplying around 60 per cent of the world’s vaccine needs and 20-22 per cent of generic drug needs.

Mandaviya unveiled “Vision for Healthcare Innovation and Global Collaboration” at the interaction with G20 Health Ministers and industry leaders and said India was committed to delivering top quality drugs.

The Health Minister later led a G20 delegation on a visit to Jan Aushadhi Kendras, government’s subsidised generic drugs store. Indonesian Health Minister Budi G Sadikin visited the Jan Aushadhi store and hailed the initiative. A successful bilateral was also held between Mansukh Mandaviya and Sadikin.

At the event, Ernst Kuipers, Health Minister of Netherlands, said, “The medicines manufactured in India save lives — in Netherlands, in Europe and across the world.”

Praising the Indian model of affordable medicines, Budi Gunadi Sadikin said, “I want to give the best medicines to my people in Indonesia. I have seen many models of different countries and India’s Jan Aushadhi Kendra model is the best in the world in terms of providing quality, accessibility and affordability of medicines to the people.”

Best model for affordable medicines

• Netherlands’ Health Minister says Indian drugs are saving lives across Netherlands and Europe
• Indonesian minister hails India’s Jan Aushadhi stores as the “best model for affordable medicines”