Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Centre is taking up the “Ayushman Bharat Yojana” on mission mode to provide quality and affordable healthcare to nearly 50 crore people across the country. He said the scheme, billed as the world’s largest government-funded healthcare programme, is a path-breaking initiative and would bring a “paradigm shift” in the health sector.
Mr. Modi was addressing a public rally at the Indira Gandhi Park in this Arunachal Pradesh capital after laying the foundation stone of the Tomo Riba Institute of Health & Medical Science.
“The scale of this scheme is unparallelled and it will bring a paradigm shift in our health sector. It is time to give India a healthcare system that makes quality treatment affordable within a limit of ₹5 lakh per family,” he said.
Mr. Modi asked the State government to frame a new health policy and work to attract private investments in the sector.
The healthcare programme was announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget for 2018-19.
Clad in traditional tribal attire, Modi also announced that the New Delhi-Naharlagun Express would now be called “Arunachal Express”. The frequency of the train, connecting the national capital to the state, would also be increased from one to two days a week.
The train, he said, will connect the “people of the state with mainland India”.
Referring to the BJP-led NDA government’s crusade against corruption, Mr. Modi said the government has been able to curb corruption through the direct bank transfer (DBT) scheme.
“The Centre has saved ₹54,000 crore through Aadhaar-enabled direct benefit transfer of about 400 government schemes,” he added.
The Prime Minister also dedicated the State Civil Secretariat to the people of the State and unveiled the plaque of the Dorjee Khandu State Convention Centre before leaving for poll-bound Tripura, where he will address campaign rallies.
