Mudhalvar Marunthagam inaugurated in Kanniyakumari, Thoothukudi

M.K. Stalin inaugurates 1,000 Chief Minister's Pharmacies in Tamil Nadu offering discounted generic and branded medicines.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin inaugurated 1,000 Mudhalvar Marunthagam (Chief Minister’s Pharmacies) across Tamil Nadu through video conferencing on Monday. As part of the initiative, 37 pharmacies were inaugurated in Kanniyakumari district and 20 in Thoothukudi district.

In Thoothukudi district, Minister of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Anitha Radhakrishnan visited the newly inaugurated Mudhalvar Marunthagam at Pudukottai. He said that of the 20 pharmacies in the district, 11 were established by cooperation departments and 9 by entrepreneurs. Collector K. Elambahavath was present.

In Kanniyakumari district, Collector R. Alagumeena visited the newly inaugurated pharmacy at Mugilanvilai. She highlighted that the pharmacies will provide generic medicines at significantly reduced prices offering discounts ranging from 20% to 90% reduced rate along with additional discounts up to 25 % for the consumers.

The Collector emphasised the government’s support for pharmacy operators, stating that the entrepreneurs receive a subsidy of ₹3 lakh, while a cooperative-run pharmacies receive ₹2 lakh. The subsidy is divided equally - 50% for infrastructure such as buying refrigerators and other equipment and the rest in the form of medicines.

Along with other generic medicines, branded siddha, ayurveda, unani and surgical items were also available at these pharmacies. The generic medicines are procured through Tamil Nadu Medical Service Corporation (TNMSC) and branded medicines and surgical items through Tamil Nadu Consumers Cooperative Federation (TNCCF).