Bengaluru, Aug. 6 -- Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has defended the State Government's decision to discontinue Jan Aushadhi Kendras (JAKs) functioning within government hospital premises, clarifying that the move is intended to strengthen the free and assured supply of essential medicines to patients. Responding to Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda's recent letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressing concern over the closure of JAKs, Rao wrote back today, asserting that Karnataka remains committed to delivering essential medicines free of cost through its public healthcare system. "The State Government has streamlined the process by directing doctors to prescribe only those medicines available through hospital supp...