Modi extends Ayushman Bharat for all over 70 years

Highlights

'Ayushman Bharat impractical, not for Delhi residents,' says AAP leader Sanjay Singh; 'If you own a refrigerator, a motorcycle, or have an income above Rs 10,000, you cannot avail of Ayushman Bharat benefits'

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched development projects worth nearly Rs 12,850 crore and extended his government's flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above.

The major push in the health sector was unveiled on the occasion of the ninth Ayurveda Day and the birth anniversary of Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of medicine. Modi also inaugurated phase II of India's first All India Institute of Ayurveda in the national capital which includes a Panchakarma hospital, an Ayurvedic pharmacy for drug manufacturing, a sports medicine unit, a central library, an IT and startup incubation centre, and a 500-seat auditorium among others.

In an innovative usage of drone technology to enhance service delivery and make healthcare more accessible, Modi launched drone services at 11 tertiary healthcare institutions. These are AIIMS-Rishikesh in Uttarakhand, AIIMS-Bibinagar in Telangana, AIIMS-Guwahati in Assam, AIIMS-Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, AIIMS-Jodhpur in Rajasthan, AIIMS-Patna in Bihar, AIIMS-Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh, AIIMS-Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, AIIMS-Raipur in Chhattisgarh, AIIMS-Mangalagiri in Andhra Pradesh and RIMS-Imphal in Manipur.

Modi hit out at Delhi and West Bengal governments for not implementing the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme due to "political interests" and said he was pained that the elderly in these places cannot avail free treatment under the expanded programme.

"I apologise to all the elderly aged 70 and above in Delhi and West Bengal that I cannot serve them. I would get to know about your pains and sufferings but I won't be able to help you," Modi said.

The Ayushman Bharat scheme would not benefit "a single resident" in the national capital due its eligibility criteria, the AAP said on Tuesday, hours after PM Narendra Modi criticised the Delhi and West Bengal governments for failing to implement the health insurance scheme out of "political interests."

Aam Aadmi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh dismissed the scheme as impractical.

"If you own a refrigerator, a motorcycle, or have an income above Rs 10,000, you cannot avail of Ayushman Bharat benefits," Singh argued. He said the scheme was "one of the biggest scams in BJP-led states," and called for an analysis of data from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to uncover the alleged fraud. Modi Tuesday launched development projects worth over Rs 12,850 crore on the occasion of Ayurveda Day and the birth anniversary of Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of medicine.