PM arrives in C'garh to roll out Ayushman Bharat scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here today on a day's visit to inaugurate the 'Ayushman Bharat- National Health Protection Mission' and other development projects.

Modi first arrived in Jagdalpur in Bastar district, where he was welcomed by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, his cabinet colleagues and other BJP leaders.

From Jagdalpur, Modi headed for Jangla in Bijapur district in a chopper and arrived here around 12.10 pm.

The prime minister will launch a healthcare and wellness centre under the 'Ayushman Bharat- National Health Protection Mission'.

He will also interact with a number of people, and take stock of several development initiatives in the region.

The Ayushman Bharat scheme has twin missions -- first, creating a network of health and wellness centres to deliver comprehensive primary healthcare close to the community, and second, providing insurance cover to 40 per cent of India's population, that is most deprived, for secondary and tertiary care, including for instance, hospitalisation costs.

It aims at covering 10 crore poor and vulnerable families and provide a cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.

According to an official, the prime minister will also commission a newly-laid railway line between Gudum and Bhanupratappur will be commissioned through video-conferencing.

The prime minister will also inaugurate the first phase of the state government's Bastar Net Project, which aims at expanding the reach of Internet to the remote villages of the division.

As part of the project, an optical fibre cable network is being laid over an area of 40,000 square kilometres in Bijapur, Narayanpur, Bastar, Kanker, Kondagaon, Sukma and Dantewada districts of the Bastar division, the official said.

This is the prime minister's fourth visit to the state since the NDA came to power in 2014 and second to Bastar, having visited the area earlier on May 9, 2015.

The prime minister's visit to the state coincides with the birth anniversary of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar.