Modi reviews launch preps of health scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a review of the launch preparations of the NDA government’s ambitious health sector scheme, Ayushman Bharat, which he had announced earlier this year and is likely to be launched by around Gandhi Jayanti.

The scheme will provide health insurance cover of up to ` 5 lakh per family. It will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families in the country.

The second component of the scheme consists of setting up of health and wellness centres in most backward districts of the country. Top officials of the ministry of health and Family Welfare, Niti Aayog and the Prime Minister’s Office ( PMO) briefed the Prime Minister on various aspects, including the preparations in states and development of the technological infrastructure associated with the scheme, official sources said.

In April, on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, the Prime Minister had inaugurated the first ‘ health and wellness centre’ under Ayushman Bharat in Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh.

Ayushman Bharat is the Prime Minister’s pet scheme, and the health insurance component was re- announced in the Union Budget for 2018- 19. While the health insurance scheme for the rural poor was announced in the 201618 budget also, the insurance cover at that time was ` 1 lakh per family.

This newspaper had earlier reported how the Prime Minister was not satisfied with the insurance cover amount and was keen that in order to make the scheme more people- friendly.