Modi to launch Ayushman Bharat scheme today

RANCHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally launch the world’s largest public health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY) in Ranchi on Sunday.

The cashless scheme, which offers an annual cover of ₹5 lakh to economically weaker section of society will be launched at the Prabhat Tara ground, and is expected to benefit 5.7 million families in the state alone.

The PM will also inaugurate 10 wellness centres, as part of the scheme, in Jharkhand. The Ayushman Bharat scheme aims to cover around 550 million people, across the country.

The scheme will target poor, deprived rural families and identified occupational category of urban workers’ families, 80.3 million in rural and 23.3 million in urban areas, as per the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data. It will cover around 50 crore people.

The entitlement is being decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC database. The beneficiaries are identified based on the deprivation categories identified under the SECC database for rural areas. For the urban areas, the 11 occupational criteria will determine entitlement.

On a visit to oversee preparations in Ranchi earlier this week, health minister JP Nadda said that each family would be provided a card with ₹5 lakh cashless insurance coverage.

State health department officials said the beneficiaries have already started receiving Prime Minister’s customised letter regarding the scheme. “State government is making effort to ensure all 5.7 million families get the letter by October 2,” said state health secretary Nidhi Khare. HTC