New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (October 17) kickstarted the distribution of PMJAY-MA Yojana Ayushman cards in Gujarat via video conferencing and said that India is going beyond health insurance and is ensuring “health assurance”. The Prime Minister also interacted with the beneficiaries of PMJAY-MA Yojana Ayushman cards on the occasion.
We have been hearing about health insurance in many countries of the world but India is going beyond that, ensuring health assurance, PM Modi said.
Referring to the spirit of ‘Sarve Santu Niramaya’ i.e. may all be free of diseases, the Prime Minister said Ayushman Yojana aims for health for all. He appreciated the enormity of the campaign of distributing 50 lakh cards to the people in the state.
Highlighting the “changed” political thinking and work culture, the Prime Minister said that the schemes for the benefit of the common man had become a mere formality in the earlier governments, however, it was “necessary to change the situation”.
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The money that was spent on these schemes was done keeping in mind a particular area and political interests. It was necessary to change this situation and we took the lead in this change. Today when planning is done, we first study the condition of common citizens and study their needs, he said.
“Our schemes today directly address the needs of the common citizens,” PM Modi stressed.
The Prime Minister said that the government has focussed on empowering the common citizen, especially the women of the country.
He listed free gas connection, pucca houses, toilets, free ration, and piped water as examples of this approach.
The Prime Minister informed that so far, around 4 crore poor patients have availed the benefit of Arogya under this scheme across the country. He further added that out of this, about 50 lakh poor patients are from Gujarat. Highlighting the commitment, the Prime Minister informed that the government has spent crores of rupees for the treatment of these beneficiaries.
The Prime Minister recalled that as the Chief Minister, he had introduced Chiranjeevi, Balbhog and Khilkhilat schemes. Mukhyamantri Amritam was introduced many years ago in Gujarat. The introduction of PMJAY-MA will enable the people of Gujarat to avail benefit of free treatment even outside Gujarat.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
