With eye on polls next year, Tamil Nadu CM Stalin launches 1,000 low-cost pharmacies 'Mudhalvar Marundhagam'

Inaugurating the new pharmacies via video conferencing, Chief Minister M K Stalin said his government was committed to delivering good for the people despite the 'crisis' precipitated by the Union Government on allotment of funds to Tamil Nadu.

Chennai: In yet another populist measure with just a year left for the 2026 assembly polls, the DMK dispensation on Monday launched 1,000 low-cost pharmacies, 'Mudhalvar Marundhagam', across Tamil Nadu that will sell generic medicines with discounts up to 75 per cent.

Inaugurating the new pharmacies via video conferencing from here, Chief Minister M K Stalin said his government was committed to delivering good for the people despite the “crisis” precipitated by the Union Government on allotment of funds to Tamil Nadu.

The pharmacies modelled on the lines of existing ones like Amma Pharmacies and Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi will be run by cooperatives and entrepreneurs who have completed B. Pharm or D. Pharm. Stalin also announced that more such pharmacies will be opened in the state in the coming months.

'Mudhalvar Marundhagam' spread across the state will offer 186 varieties of generic medicines, including those taken by Diabetes and patients with Blood Pressure, along with products of Siddha, Ayurveda, and Unani. After the launch, Stalin visited one of the pharmacies in Pondy Bazaar in the business district of T. Nagar and interacted with people who had come to buy medicines.

The government offers a subsidy of Rs 3 lakh for entrepreneurs and Rs 2 lakh for cooperatives to set up the pharmacies where prices of medicines will be available up to 75 per cent lesser than and much cheaper than those available in the open market and in Amma Pharmacies PMJA respectively.

“We have stocked up medicines needed for the pharmacies for a period of three months at a godown in Saligramam in Chennai. We have also set up godown in 38 districts and all pharmacies are air conditioned and are equipped with modern facilities. The silver lining is the price of the medicines available at these pharmacies,” Stalin added.

The launch of the low-cost pharmacies spread across the state including in rural areas comes just a year before Stalin faces the crucial assembly polls in April-May 2026. The scheme, which is likely to benefit lakhs of poor people who shell out a significant portion of their salary or pension on buying medicines for their illnesses, is seen as a competition to Amma Pharmacies launched under the AIADMK government in 2014.

The Chief Minister said the 'Mudhalvar Marundhagam' is yet another pro-people scheme like Rs 1,000 per month assistance for women and free bus travel for women in town buses.

Listing the schemes implemented by his government in the health sector, Stalin said his government ensured that the coverage of Covid-19 vaccination increased from 8.09 percent to 86.95 percent (first dose) and from 2.84 percent to 60.71 percent (second dose) in just seven months after taking over in May 2021.