PM Modi launches Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, calls it an effort to eliminate poverty

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RANCHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, rolling out world's largest government funded healthcare scheme - 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana' (PMJAY) from Ranchi for the entire Country on Sunday, claimed that the scheme will help poor get rid of poverty as most of their hard earned money gets wasted in hospitals.

Addressing a gathering of over one lakh people at Prabhat Tara Ground, Modi added that the scheme was being launched with an intention to make premium health facilities available to each and every person in the country.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda, Governor Droupadi Murmu, Chief Minister Raghubar Das, State Health Minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi and several other officials of health department were also present during the programme.

The Prime Minister also laid foundation stone for the two Medical Colleges in Chaibasa and Koderma in Jharkhand.

"This programme has been launched to help poor get rid of poverty as most of the earnings of poor people get wasted in treatment of one or another family members due to which they could never come out of poverty," said the Prime Minister.

The programme has been launched with an intention to provided equal health care facility to all, and the premium health facilities available in the Country does not get restricted only to the privileged one, he added. 

"It became possible because as we have emphasized on empowerment of the poor which has further enabled the Country of getting rid of poverty," said the Prime Minister.

Not only in Government Hospitals, but free health facilities will be available in any private hospitals also where the beneficiary family could avail treatment worth Rs 5 lakh, he added. Modi added that PMJAY will be made available to everyone cutting across the caste, creed or religion.

"Ayushman Bharat Mission also boosts the spirit of one-India as one can avail free health care facilities in any of the States in the Country for which more than 13000 hospitals have been empaneled," said the Prime Minister.

The Government has been making efforts to provide better health facilities to the people without dividing Country into pieces and working in an organized and systematic way, he added.

'Besides providing free health assurance, we are also emphasizing on preventive health care and have been working on promoting yoga, keeping our surroundings clean and also trying to make cities and villages open defecation free (ODF).

Besides that, the Government is also trying to improve infrastructure and human resource and has fixed a target of making 1 lakh doctors in the next 4-5 years, he added.

The Government believes that one cannot imagine a strong Country without healthy citizens in it, he added. Modi said that PMABY is world's largest government funded health scheme providing assurance up to Rs 5 lakh to more than 50 crore beneficiaries, which is more than the total population of European Union or the population of America, Canada and Mexico taken together.

Thanking Prime Minister for launching the PMABY from Ranchi, Chief Minister Ragghubar Das said that the Prime Minister believes that development of the Country is not possible until the development of each and every person living in the Country and hence all the programmes and welfare schemes are prepared and launched keeping that in mind.

Calling it a mega-health reform, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said that the PMABY is paperless, cashless and portable also, which is based on Information Technology and has been providing new heights to the spirit of Digital India.

The scheme will benefit more than 10.74 crore poor families through empanelled hospitals and wellness centers throughout the Country.