New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced that his government will launch an ambitious healthcare scheme on September 25 this year which will benefit 50 crore citizens of the country. In his last Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort ahead of the next Lok Sabha election, he said the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan (Ayushman Bharat) will be launched on September 25 on the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay. 

"The healthcare initiatives of the government will have a positive impact on 50 crore Indians," he said. 

"It is essential to ensure that we free the poor of India from the clutches of poverty due to which they cannot afford healthcare." 

The ambitious Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) aims to provide a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10 crore poor families. 

 

The scheme aims to target poor, deprived rural families and identified occupational category of urban workers' families, 8.03 crore in rural and 2.33 crore in urban areas, as per the latest Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) data, and will cover around 50 crore people. 

Asserting that technology will play a crucial role in the implementation of the programme, he said in four to six weeks, testing of these technology tools under the scheme will start.

 

Orissa launches its own health welfare scheme

Meanwhile, the Orissa government launched its  health welfare scheme aimed at benefiting 70 lakh families. 

Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced the start of Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), an universal health coverage scheme, in the state from today while unfurling the national flag at Mahatma Gandhi Road here during a drizzle. 

Stating that the scheme would benefit 70 lakh families by providing healthcare services to 3.5 crore people in the state, Patnaik said it would be implemented with the cooperation of everyone using the state's money. 

 

The state government had earlier made it clear that BSKY is not an insurance, but an assurance to the people for a better health service in which secondary and tertiary chashless health care assistance will be provided up to Rs 5 lakh per family- Rs 7 lakh in case of a woman- in per annum. 

 

"Healthy Odisha – Happy Odisha. Let us continue our endeavour to build a prosperous and strong state," he said.