Delhi govt to ink MoU with Centre on April 10 to implement Ayushman Bharat in capital

Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Singh announced on Tuesday that the state government will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre on April 10 to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in the national capital. The initiative aims to provide health coverage to one lakh people within a month of its rollout.

The implementation of AB-PMJAY was a key electoral promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the Delhi Assembly elections held in February. The previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had opted out of the scheme, instead launching its own healthcare initiative.

Addressing a press conference, Singh also revealed plans to phase out non-functional Mohalla Clinics operating from rented properties and replace them with new clinics on government land.

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“Currently, each assembly constituency has around seven Mohalla Clinics running from rented premises. Since we have available government land, it makes sense to build clinics there instead. Approximately 160 such rented clinics that are not functioning efficiently will be shut down,” Singh stated.

AB-PMJAY provides an annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization, benefiting approximately 55 crore people from 12.37 crore economically vulnerable families, which constitute the bottom 40% of India’s population.

Additionally, on October 29, 2024, the Central government expanded the scheme to offer free treatment benefits of up to Rs 5 lakh per year to all senior citizens aged 70 and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status.

(With inputs from PTI)