Nitish Kumar launches Ayushman Bharat in Bihar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojna (PMJAY) - Ayushman Bharat in the state's capital city of Patna and congratulated the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the same.

Addressing a gathering at the launch event, Kumar said, "When I heard the budget speech of this year by the Union Finance Minister - Arun Jaitley , I was very happy to hear about this scheme. Giving up to Rs. 5 lakh for every family every year towards their medical expenses is a great initiative. It is great to see the project launching in various states today."

"Our Health Minister - Mangal Pandey, and other officials have put in a lot of effort for the launch of this scheme. I congratulate our health department for the launch of the scheme today. We have also taken several initiatives to promote health care in the state in the past," Kumar added.

The Janata Dal (United) leader further pointed out that in February 2006, a survey found that on an average, only 49 people a month visited a primary health centre in the state. Following the survey, the staff at all medical colleges, government hospitals, and primary health centres throughout the state was bolstered and provision of free medication at government hospitals was made.

"In November-December of the same year, we again conducted a survey in the state, which found that around 1500-2000 people went to primary health centres for their treatment. Today, around 11,000 people visit primary health centres each month," Kumar added.

"This Ayushman Bharat scheme will also prove to be very beneficial. We will make sure everyone is aware of the scheme and will help them with the registration of the scheme," said the Bihar Chief Minister.

He further declared that the number of beds in the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Science and the Nalanda Medical College Hospital in Patna would be increased to 2,500, while the capacity of the Patna Medical College Hospital would be increased to 5,000 beds.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi had launched the scheme in Jharkhand, while Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had launched the scheme in Uttar Pradesh.