Rajnath Singh launches Ayushman Bharat in Lucknow

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) - Ayushman Bharat scheme in Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow.

Addressing a gathering here, Singh said, "Even if one person in a poor household falls ill, the entire family's budget is shaken. I believe that the 'Ayushman Bharat' Yojana will help ailing people to get rid of their diseases and will also instil a sense of confidence in them."

"Statistics show that as many as five crore families have been pushed below the poverty line because of the over-burdening medical expenses they have to bear. Thus, I believe that the scheme will be a crisis aversion scheme for the poor. Now, no poor will have to borrow, they don't have to be indebted to anyone," added the Union Home Minister.

He further stated that the scheme adopts a holistic approach to tackle health-related problems by not only providing medical expenses for a family but by also promoting health-care through around 1.5 lakh health care centres.

Referring to the former United States President Barack Obama's health insurance scheme - Obamacare, Singh said, "The way Barack Obama's scheme was nicknamed 'Obamacare', the term 'Modi care' was coined for our scheme. But I don't consider this a 'Modi care' or 'Modi cover'; I consider this a 'Modi Kawach' for the poor of the country."

The former UP Chief Minister further said that apart from the welfare of the poor, this scheme would also provide employment in the medical sector.

"Our government has also decided to constitute a national digital health authority to upgrade the health care, to use technology and improve efficiency and outcome. Till now, very little money was spent on the health sector, but we have decided to spend at least 2.5 per cent of the GDP on the health sector," Singh said.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the scheme in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi. He had also laid foundation stones for medical colleges in Chaibasa and Koderma of Jharkhand.