Udhampur: 32,634 families registered as 'Ayushman Bharat' beneficiaries

As many as 32,634 families in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district have been registered as beneficiaries of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Ayushman Bharat' scheme.

28,700 families from rural parts of Udhampur and 3,934 families from the urban areas have been registered as beneficiaries of the scheme.

Speaking to ANI, the chief medical officer of the district, Dr K.C Dogra, said there were two main parts of the scheme; one is the health insurance, which will cover medical expenses up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year, and the other being the Health and Wellness Centres.

"The Government of India will provide up to Rs 5 lakh to each every family per year for medical treatment. The Health and Wellness Centres have been started in two blocks of the district. In Ramnagar block, there are 11 such centres and we have received Rs 7 lakh per centre from the government for upgradation," Dogra said.

"Apart from medical treatment, we will also make people aware of how to maintain their health and wellness, like inculcating healthy eating habits, following a healthy lifestyle, etc," Dogra added.

Prime Minister Modi had announced the 'Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan' on the occasion of the 72nd Independence Day.

Also referred to as 'Modicare', the Prime Minister had announced that the scheme will be launched on September 25. The policy, which is touted as the world's largest government-funded health protection scheme, is slated to cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families, based on SECC (Socio-Economic Caste Census) data.

The beneficiaries will be able to avail cashless benefits from any public/private empanelled hospitals across the country.

19-day-old Karishma, born at Kalpana Chawla government hospital in Haryana's Karnal on August 15, had become the first beneficiary of the scheme.