Ayushman Bharat first and only scheme in world that gives health coverage to 80 cr people, says Amit Shah

Bhopal, Jan 30 (PTI) The Ayushman Bharat Yojana, the Centre’s flagship health scheme, is the first and only such complete mechanism in the world that provides cover of Rs 5 lakh to 80 crore people, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday.

Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this achievement, Shah also said the number of medical colleges had gone up from 387 to 596 across the country since 2014.

He was addressing a function virtually after inaugurating the Shiv Gyan Moti Lal (SGML) Eye Hospital in Ujjain, some 190 kilometres from here.

“In the whole world, this (Ayushman Bharat Yojana) is the first and only example of providing complete health care coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh to 80 crore people nationwide,” an official release quoted Shah as saying.

Shah said the number of medical colleges in the country has increased from 387 to 596, the number of MBBS seats has been gone up from 51,000 to 89,000 and the number of PG seats now stands at 60,000, up from 31,000, under the Modi government.

An increase of 55 per cent in the number of medical colleges, one-and-a-half time rise in the number of MBBS seats and doubling of MS and MD seats will immensely strengthen India’s health infrastructure, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said.

The Union government has established 22 new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), which will greatly benefit the poor, Shah added.

The 50-bed SGML Eye Hospital, set up by Shri Swaminarayan Sansthan Vadtal in Ujjain, has been built at a cost of Rs 15 crore will cure various types of ailments and give affordable treatment to the poorest of the poor, he said.

Shah hailed MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who also attended the function in online mode, for starting the MBBS course in Hindi in the state, which he said was a first for the country and would provide new momentum to Indian languages.

Paying tribute to Gandhiji on his death anniversary, the Union minister said the Mahatma not only propagated India’s message of non-violence across the world, but also established it.