New Delhi, Sep 16
In the first 100 days of its third term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has rolled out several schemes to boost the healthcare sector such as providing health cover to all senior citizens aged above 70 years, and adding 75,000 new medical seats.
About 4.5 crore families, including 6 crore senior citizens will benefit from the health coverage of Rs 5 lakh to all senior citizens aged 70 and above, regardless of their income. The move rolled out under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) comes as India's elderly population is projected to double by 2050, and will increase the demand for geriatric care. In his address to the nation on Independence Day, PM Modi promised to create 75,000 more medical seats in the next five years, from the current over one lakh in the country. The addition will make the healthcare system more effective and help reduce foreign dependence in medical education. Emphasising the vision of 'Swasth Bharat' (Healthy India) for 'Viksit Bharat 2047', the government introduced the Rashtriya Poshan Mission. The flagship programme of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) aims to improve the nutritional status of children, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and adolescent girls. Further, the U-WIN portal has been launched to digitise routine immunisations, and the National Medical Commission is developing a centralised doctors' repository. In a bid to tackle the burden of sickle cell disease, the government launched a special campaign to raise awareness about the genetic blood disorder among women, adolescent girls, and tribal communities. In the Union Budget 2024-25, the government exempted customs duty on three cancer drugs -- Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib, and Durvalumab -- to reduce the financial burden of people suffering from cancer and also to facilitate accessibility. The government also slashed the GST rate from 12 per cent to 5 per cent on these three cancer medicines. Under the PM E-DRIVE scheme, an electric ambulance facility has been rolled out with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore. Digital Healthcare: The 'Scan and Share' feature on the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) has also been launched to provide a 4 crore out-patient registration facility.