Guwahati
March 16, 2026
National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, organized a Regional Workshop on the Free Drug Service Initiative (FDSI) on March 16th, 2026 at Guwahati. Dignitaries from 13 states participated in the workshop aimed at strengthening public health supply chains, improving access to essential medicines and enhancing transparency across drug distribution systems.
Event was graced by Dr. Lakshmanan S IAS, Mission Director, National Health Mission (NHM) and Managing Director, AMSCL, Assam, along with senior experts including Gp. Capt. (Dr.) Rajiv Pathni, Advisor QPS, NHSRC, and Dr. Raj Prabha Moktan, Director, RRC NE. The importance of Free Drug Service Initiative in reducing citizens Out of Pocket Expenditure (OoPE) through availability of Drugs in Government facilities were stressed during their introductory remarks.
C-DAC, Noida received significant appreciation for its continued technological support to national health initiatives. Shri Abhishek Verma, Principal Technical Officer delivered an expert address on “Leveraging Technology in Strengthening Supply Chain of Medicines”, highlighting role of digital platforms and data driven analytics in optimizing healthcare delivery. Best practices & shared solutions for common challenges at states and national level within the FDSI ecosystem were also presented by him.
Chair commended C DAC's flagship solutionsincluding Central Monitoring System (Central Dashboard) &eAushadhi (DVDMS)for enabling nationwide visibility, traceability, and accountability of essential drug supplies. The chair recognized that 31 States and UTs are already being monitored through the Central Dashboard & noted its growing importance as a trusted central monitoring point for MoHFW and state authorities. It was further emphasized that the platform will also support Free Diagnostics Service Initiative through integration with EMMS (eUpkaran) and similar state systems and other MoHFW initiatives, reaffirming C DAC's role as a key technology partner in driving impactful public health reforms.
