Ayushman Bharat scheme to cover 90 pc of Maha population: Guv

As many as 90 per cent population of Maharashtra will be eligible for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Ayushman Bharat scheme, Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao said here on Sunday.

Rao was speaking after attending launch of the Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme at the state government's Sahyadri Guest House in Mumbai.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and public health minister Dr Deepak Sawant were also present.

The ambitious healthcare scheme was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jharkhand Sunday. It was simultaneously launched in other parts of the country.

As many as 83.71 lakh families in Maharashtra, accounting for 90 per cent of population, would benefit from the scheme, Rao said.

The scheme will be implemented alongwith Maharashtra government's existing Mahatma Phule Janarogya Yojana.

"In the post-independence period, research (in medical science) has helped increase life expectancy from 35 to 70. Infant mortality and number of deaths of pregnant women have been brought down. Ayushman Bharat is a step forward in the same direction," said Rao.

"Former US president Barack Obama had launched similar scheme which covered only 10 crore people. But prime minister Modi has thought of 50 crore people and ensured better medical cover for them. This is now world's biggest healthcare system," said Fadnavis.

Union minister Prakash Javadekar launched the scheme in neighbouring Thane, while Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan launched it in Nashik.