Odisha to implement Ayushman Bharat soon: CM Mohan Majhi

The Odisha government will implement the BJP government’s flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat in the State, informed Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on Tuesday.

Addressing a gathering at Goathapatna in Bhubaneswar, Majhi said, “Ayushman Bharat is the largest health insurance scheme in the world and it covers 50 crore people. Odisha people who were deprived of the welfare scheme will be getting the benefits soon.”

“Our government is going to implement the scheme soon. Besides, the Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana will continue in the State. Our government has made a budgetary allocation of RS 3,556 crore for the same,” Majhi added.

The health department has been allocated Rs 21,000 crore to enhance healthcare facilities in the State. The allocation is 32 per cent more than the previous budgetary allotment, the Chief Minister informed.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched various development projects worth around Rs 12,850 crore across the country and extended his government's flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above.

PM Modi virtually laid the foundation stone for a central research institute in yoga and naturopathy in Khordha on Tuesday on the occasion of ninth Ayurveda Day and the birth anniversary of Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of medicine.

During the event, the PM also inaugurated the Central Drugs Testing Laboratory of the eastern zone at Gothapatna and a critical healthcare unit in Bargarh.