CHENNAI: Out of 1,000 ‘Mudalvar Marunthagam’ (Chief Minister’s pharmacy) outlets planned to be launched by January next year, 500 will be managed by entrepreneurs and the remaining by cooperative federations/societies, said Minister for Cooperation K R Periyakaruppan on Tuesday. To set them up, the government will provide a subsidy of Rs 3 lakh per pharmacy. These drug stores are intended to sell generic medicines and others at nominal prices to the public.
The minister was speaking to the media after attending a review meeting at the department headquarters in Chennai. During the meeting, he also introduced a mobile application named ‘Kooturavu’ (Cooperation), where one can access all services provided by cooperative banks.
According to official sources, cooperation federations and societies currently operate 381 pharmacies across the state, selling essential medicines at subsidised rates. Of these, cooperative wholesale stores run 136, cooperative marketing societies 110, primary cooperative stores 51, and others are managed by various societies.
The TN Consumers’ Co-operative Federation serves as the Nodal Agency for procuring medicines directly from pharmaceutical companies under the Centralized Procurement of Medicines initiative from February 2022. The proposed CM pharmacies are expected to follow the same model.
Officials said they are awaiting orders to begin setting up the CM pharmacies. “While loans are available for jewellery, vehicles, agriculture, and other purposes, it’s unclear if loans for setting up CM pharmacies will be provided through cooperative banks. Government orders detailing the procedures for establishing the pharmacies are yet to be received,” said an official.
Speaking to reporters, Periyakaruppan said cooperative banks offer loans of Rs 5000 per gram for gold. “Loans are provided for up to 75% of the jewel’s value, with a maximum of Rs 30 lakhs per person. People can now apply for loans through the mobile app. Additionally, through the e-rent option, users can avail agricultural equipment credit societies for rent,” the minister added. He also noted that efforts are being made to reduce the average age of cooperative bank users.