Free medicine scheme: Activists asks govt to review criteria

Civil society organisations today protested near the Assembly building against the state government's decision to downsize the free medicine scheme by re-visiting the eligibility criteria, and demanded its roll back.
The activists demanded Rajasthan government to review its decision to revise the criteria for determining beneficiaries of free medicines
"Save Rajasthan's Free Medicines and Free Diagnostics Schemes", campaign was (taken up) after Vasundhara Raje has announced in the budget that the 'Chief Minister's Free Medicine and Diagnostics' scheme would now apply only to families which are being covered under the food security scheme in Out Patient Departments (OPD) in public health facilities.

"While activists from across the state and country have been demanding that the scheme be made more comprehensive and efficient so as to benefit even greater number of people, the state government's decision on the contrary is aimed towards downsizing the scheme and bound its benefits to limited sections of the populations," People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) General Secretary Kavita Srivastava alleged.
Sawai Singh of 'Samagra Seva Sangh' alleged that the government's decision was unjustified and entails to appease pharmaceutical companies and private medical practitioners and is meant to promote entry of private companies into public health sector.
Representatives of civil society organisations demanded that the decision be immediately revoked and the schemes should be continued as essential health services meant for everybody.