Ayushman Bharat Health Scheme: The largest State run health programme in the World

The launch of the world’s largest health scheme run by the state will promulgate the growth of healthcare industry in India.

India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Ayushman Bharat Health Scheme which is expected to be the largest government funded health scheme in the world. According to the Prime Minister, this scheme is a game changer and it is mainly a step taken to serve the poor in the country. Some are calling it Modicare while some are calling it scheme for the poor. This step towards the healthcare system in India is highly expected to propel the healthcare industry. During the launch Modi said, “PMJAY-Ayushman Bharat is the biggest government-sponsored healthcare scheme in the world," he further added, “The total number of beneficiaries from Ayushman Bharat is more than the population of America, Canada and Mexico combined. Organisations across the world will study Ayushman Bharat to study how the government funded this large-scale scheme." The Prime Minister urged everyone to remember and memorise the helpline number of Ayushman Bharat Scheme so that anyone in need could be helped immediately. Narendra Modi announced the scheme during his Independence Day speech which was launched in 445 districts simultaneously. The government also rolled out a digital campaign to spread the awareness regarding the scheme through animations and graphics on websites and social media. According to the industry analysis of BlueWeave Consulting, the 71^st round of National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) revealed by the health ministry officials said that around 85.9% of rural household and around 82% of the urban household have zero access to any kind of healthcare assurance or insurance. In rural India more than 24% household while in urban around 18% of the population meet their healthcare expenses by borrowing from others. 60 per cent of the contribution of the fund will be provided by the central government while the remaining will be served by the state. The scheme aims to provide health insurance to around 10 crore families with benefit of up to INR 5 lakh coverage per year. It is mainly directed towards the deprived and poor rural as well as urban families who fall under the urban worker’s families category. This scheme will bring forth a change in the healthcare industry of the country since now even the people who cannot afford minimum healthcare will be able to receive it with the help of the scheme. This will accelerate the growth of the industry in the foreseeable future.