Number of Beneficiaries in government-sponsored healthcare scheme Crosses 10 Million Mark; Indian PM Modi Shares Happiness

The number of people who have benefited from the ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme has crossed the one crore-mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, observing that the initiative has made a positive impact on several lives. It was in September 2018, Modi had launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Ayushman Bharat as the massive government-sponsored healthcare scheme in the world.

“It would make every Indian proud that the number of Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries has crossed 1 crore. In less than two years, this initiative has had a positive impact on so many lives,” the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

He complimented all the beneficiaries and their families and prayed for their good health. He thanked the doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and all others associated with Ayushman Bharat, saying their efforts have made it the largest healthcare program in the world.

During my official tours, I would interact with Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries. Sadly, that is not possible these days but I did have a great telephone interaction with Pooja Thapa from Meghalaya, the 1 croreth beneficiary. Here is what we discussed. https://t.co/vsUOEEo5pM

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2020

“This initiative has won the trust of several Indians, especially the poor and downtrodden,” he said. One of the biggest benefits of Ayushman Bharat is portability, the prime minister said. “Beneficiaries can get top quality and affordable medical care not only where they registered but also in other parts of India. This helps those who work away from home or are registered at a place where they don’t belong,” he added.

However, Prime minister expressed his disappointment for not making himself available to meet the beneficiaries as it is the time of pandemic.

“Sadly, that is not possible these days but I did have a great telephone interaction with Pooja Thapa from Meghalaya, the 1 croreth beneficiary,” Prime minister said in an  shared audio clip of the conversation in which Thapa, a soldier’s wife, who narrates about the surgery she gone through in Shillong using the Ayushman Bharat facility. She said that her husband was posted in Manipur and could not be with her due to the coronavirus lockdown. Her two small children were being taken care of by the neighbors.

As asked by the prime minister, Thapa informed that she did not have to pay for the surgery and the medicines. She said without the scheme card, she would have found it difficult to go for the surgery without a loan.