Ayushman Bharat—PM Modi’s ‘Health for All’ Guarantee

Published By : Admin | February 9, 2024 | 19:50 IST

Health is of fundamental importance to any individual. It also forms the core of any national strategy meant for higher growth and sustainable development since true development results only from a healthy populace, functioning at optimum productivity. Hence, PM Modi’s mantra of Health for All speaks volumes about his understanding of and commitment to India’s holistic wellbeing.


In his quest to create an India that is blessed with a robust present and a thriving future, PM Modi launched his visionary scheme, Ayushman Bharat in 2018. Certainly, a game-changer, this ambitious initiative is more than just a healthcare program. It causes a shift in the way India has looked at and dealt with healthcare over the years. From a sectoral and segmented approach, Ayushman Bharat envisions healthcare delivery via a comprehensive, need-based pathway. It introduces pioneering interventions to create a wholesome healthcare environment at all levels—primary, secondary, and tertiary.


Surely, it is a meaningful attempt to bring accessible and affordable medical care to crores of Indians, truly manifesting PM Modi’s promise of Garib Kalyan.


Ayushman Bharat is a bouquet of initiatives that not only bring more lives under public health cover but also improve the affordability of medical procedures while augmenting the existing public health infrastructure. It stands on four dynamic pillars—Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, Health and Wellness Centres, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, and Pradhan Mantri – Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission.


Beginning with the PM Jan Arogya Yojana, it is by far the world’s largest health insurance plan funded by a government. Covering nearly 55 crore individuals belonging to 12 crore vulnerable families, the scheme offers an assured health cover of up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. Apart from giving access to the common man to good hospitals and standard treatments, PM Jan Arogya Yojana acts as a safety net, ensuring that medical emergencies don’t spiral into a cycle of debt.


To ensure the same, over 26,000 hospitals, including more than 11,000 private hospitals, have been empanelled under the scheme. A total of 6.2 crore free hospital admissions worth over Rs. 79,000 crore have been catered to via the scheme. This has resulted into immense savings in out-of-pocket expenditure, amounting to more than Rs. 1.25 lakh crore, for the poor. Had it not been for the scheme, the same treatment cost would have gone up by almost 2 times.


Further, a milestone 30 crore Ayushman Cards have been issued since 2018. Out of these, over 16 crore Cards were created only in the last two financial years. At this rate, almost 181 Ayushman Cards are created every minute.


PM Jan Arogya today stands for equity, entitlement, and empowerment. Acting as a healthcare guarantee to the poor, the scheme has ensured these services reach all, embedding gender parity along with regional and income parity in its delivery. This is exemplified via the nearly 14.6 crore Ayushman Cards created for females—making 49% of all Ayushman Cards issued. Further 48% of all treatments have been availed by female beneficiaries.


The second dynamic pillar of the flagship Ayushman Bharat scheme is the extensive focus of the government in building public health infrastructure at the grassroot level and aiding a shift towards preventive healthcare—Health and Wellness Centres now known as Arogya Mandirs.


The Modi government has established over 1.6 lakh health and wellness centres across the length and breadth of the nation. With the aim of taking comprehensive healthcare services to the doorstep of the most marginalised, the Arogya Mandirs are an exercise in upgrading existing sub-health and primary health centres to provide preventive, promotive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative services that are free, available to all, and closer to the community. These services cater to both child and maternal health as well as non-communicable diseases with provisions for free essential drugs and diagnostic services.


PM Modi’s approach towards establishing these centers across India is rooted in his emphasis not only on health but wellness, nudging people to choose healthy behaviours while improving their access to basic healthcare delivery.


The third pillar is Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. A continuing stream in PM Modi’s extensive emphasis on creating a digitally empowered, knowledge economy, the Mission aims to give a concrete basis and form to an integrated digital health infrastructure in the country. Its key components include Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) for citizens, Health Professional Registry (HPR), Health Facility Registry (HFR), and the ABHA Application.


So far, we have created over 49 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts with over 2.5 lakh healthcare professionals onboard. More than 2.25 lakh health facilities have also registered under the Mission.


By empowering individuals with information and awareness, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission introduces seamless flow of health data across the country. This would aid not only in better monitoring and evaluation of healthcare services but also supports evidence-based policymaking.


The fourth pillar under the umbrella of Ayushman Bharat is the Pradhan Mantri – Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM). Launched in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, PM-ABHIM aims to augment capacities of healthcare systems and institutions to better deal with any future public health emergencies. With an outlay of Rs. Rs. 64,180 crore till year 2025-26, the mission is plugging critical gaps in healthcare infrastructure along with surveillance mechanisms and sectoral research across rural and urban frameworks. Notably, it is the largest pan-India initiative to enhance public health infrastructure since the early 2000s.


Ayushman Bharat, as the name suggests, envisions a healthy and prosperous future for India. With its dedicated focus on the poor and the marginalised, the scheme ensures that accessibility no longer remains an issue, especially in the rural areas, and quality healthcare is no longer an exclusive privilege of the rich.


The success of Ayushman Bharat is reflected in the sheer numbers. Millions of beneficiaries have availed medical treatments, including complex and expensive procedures without bothering about financial repercussions. Besides, the scheme has opened up new avenues for the middle class and the youth as new medical facilities in tier-2 and tier-3 cities open up employment opportunities.


It would not be wrong to say that Ayushman Bharat is a standing example of how PM Modi has transformed a hitherto stagnant sector with visionary policies and their steadfast implementation. Leaving no one behind, this initiative writes a new healthcare narrative of India, one that is brimming with positivity and promise.

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PM Modi’s Vision Fuels Delhi’s Development
April 12, 2024

“Delhi has the good fortune to get an opportunity of keeping the flag of nations' prestige flying high.”
- PM Narendra Modi as Delhi prepared to host the G20 Summit

The last ten years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government have set in motion the creation of a New India—from rural to urban, from water to electricity, from houses to health, from education to employment, from castes to classes—a comprehensive plan bringing growth and prosperity to each doorstep.

The National Capital Territory of Delhi has emerged as a pivotal part of this dynamic developmental momentum spearheaded by PM Modi throughout this transformative decade.

The city has been at the heart of the infrastructural shift that has given a dedicated facelift to the entire nation. Today infrastructural marvels like Atal Setu, Chenab Bridge, Statue of Unity, and Zojila Tunnel dot India’s ever-evolving landscape.

With its focus on revamping transportation networks, upgrading urban amenities, and expanding digital infrastructure, the Modi government has launched an array of transformative initiatives. From railways, highways to airports, these initiatives have been key in galvanising inclusive and sustainable development across the length and breadth of the country.

The impressive expansion of the metro rail network has revolutionised urban commuting in India. From a mere 5 cities in 2014, the metro rail network now serves 21 cities across the nation—expanding from 248 km in 2014 to 945 km by 2024, with 919 km of lines under construction in 26 additional cities.

The Union Cabinet has recently approved two new corridors of Delhi Metro Phase-IV—Lajpat Nagar to Saket G-Block and Inderlok to Indraprastha. Both the lines have a combined length of over 20 kms with a project cost of over Rs. 8,000 crore (funding being sourced from the Union Govt, Govt of Delhi, and international agencies). The Inderlok- Indraprastha line will play a significant role in enhancing connectivity to the Bahadurgarh region of Haryana. Additionally, India’s first Namo Bharat train, operating on the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor further underlines the Modi government’s commitment to enhancing regional connectivity and upgrading its transportation infrastructure.

Further, the Bharatmala Pariyojana envisages improved logistics efficiency and connectivity via the development of nearly 35,000 km of National Highway corridors. 25 greenfield high-speed corridors have been planned under the plan out of which four intersect with Delhi’s growing infra capacity: Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, Delhi-Saharanpur-Dehradun Expressway, and the Urban Extension Road-II. The total project length sanctioned for Delhi is 203 km with an allocation of over Rs. 18,000 crore.

Over the past decade, the Modi government has consistently dedicated efforts towards augmenting capacity and decongestion of airports. After the IGI Airport Delhi became the first airport in the country to have four runways and an elevated taxiway, the expanded state-of-the-art Terminal 1 has also been inaugurated recently. In addition, the upcoming Noida International Airport (Jewar) shall further contribute to decongestion of the Delhi airport which is serving millions of passengers annually.

Besides, the inauguration of the New Parliament has further added civilisational yet modern connotations to the city’s landscape. Inauguration of the Yashobhoomi (India International Convention & Expo Centre) has given Delhi India’s largest convention and exhibition centre, offering a mixed purpose tourism experience. Along with Yashobhoomi, the Bharat Mandapam, a world-class convention and exhibition centre, showcases India to the world.

In terms of welfare, the Modi government has launched several schemes benefitting people hitherto on the margins of growth and development. Women’s safety in Delhi has been a key concern. To address the same, the Modi government strengthened the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 by increasing the quantum of punishment for rape, including capital punishment for rape of a girlchild below the age of 12.

The Union Home Ministry established a separate Women Safety Division back in 2018. One-stop centers, Sakhi Niwas, Safe City Project, Nirbhaya Fund, SHe-Box, Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences, and Cri-MAC (Crime Multi-Agency Center) among others are significant additions in the government’s campaign towards women safety.

In addition, Swachh Bharat Mission, PM Ujjwala Yojana, PM Matru Vandana Yojana, and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao have further led to the empowerment of Nari Shakti in India.

As India becomes the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world, Delhi is also contributing significantly towards this development. Today over 13,000 DPIIT-recognised startups are functioning in Delhi even as the government is promoting self-employment through PM MUDRA Yojana with over 2.3 lakh loans sanctioned worth over Rs. 3,000 crore for FY2023-24 (as on 26.01.2024).

PM SVANidhi, which provides collateral free loans to street vendors, is supporting over 1.67 lakh beneficiaries in Delhi. Further, under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana, launched in 2020 to incentivise employers for creation of new employment and restoration of loss of employment during Covid-19 pandemic, over 2.2 lakh employees benefitted in Delhi.

Further, nearly 30,000 houses have been sanctioned and completed in Delhi under PM Awas Yojana (Urban).

Air pollution has been a recurring problem for the people of Delhi. Conscious of this reality, the central government has launched the National Clean Air Programme as a national level strategy to reduce air pollution level across the country.

The Modi government's tenure over the last decade has brought about a remarkable transformation in Delhi across various fronts. From infrastructure development to governance reforms, from education to employment, the government's initiatives have left an indelible mark on the capital city. As Delhi continues on its journey of progress and development, the contributions of the Modi government are set to shape its future trajectory for years to come.