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Jaswant moved to tears

The Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, wipes his tears after meeting war widows in Barmer on Friday. — AFP

Barmer (Rajasthan) April 11 . The Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, who today inaugurated the "Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS)", became emotional when a widow, whose husband died in Assam in counter-insurgency operation after two years of marriage, narrated her story. Mr. Singh interacted with the war widows and distributed sewing machines to them.

The ECHS is a long-pending demand. The scheme, cleared by the Prime Minister last year and launched on April 1 this year, is expected to provide medical facilities to about one crore ex-servicemen and their families across the country with the establishment of 227 poly-clinics in the next four years.

Addressing the ex-servicemen and their families, Mr. Singh appreciated the co-operation of the Prime Minister and Defence Ministry in implementing this scheme, the first of its kind to be adopted by any country.

PTI

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