Over 1.20 crore senior citizens enrolled under ABVV scheme
New Delhi, June 6
More than 1.20 crore senior citizens have been enrolled under the Ayushman Bharat Vay Vandana scheme, which has delivered over 13.84 lakh treatments worth Rs 3,000 crore, the government said on Saturday.
The Mission Indradhanush drive vaccinated 5.46 crore children and 1.32 crore pregnant women who had not been immunised earlier, the statement noted.
The share of zero-dose children -- those who have received no vaccines at all -- fell from 0.11 per cent of the population in 2023 to 0.06 per cent in 2024.
The government runs the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP), which targets 2.67 crore newborns and 2.9 crore pregnant women annually, offering free vaccines against 12 diseases.
Highlighting broader health system gains over the past 12 years, the government said over 44 crore families have been insured under government schemes and over 1.86 lakh primary care centres have been operationalised.
Generic medicines are now available at prices 50-90 per cent below market rates through over 18,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras.
"Over 47 crore telemedicine consultations have been delivered. Medical colleges in India have more than doubled. 12 new AIIMS have been functional since 2014.
Traditional medicine has been formally integrated into the public health system," the statement said.
The government has more than doubled capacity to train doctors and nurses to meet rising healthcare demand, it added.
Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) provides free public health insurance up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year to socio-economically deprived families.
Such families make up about 40 per cent of the population, or about 12 crore families. The insurance saves these families from catastrophic healthcare bills.
Under the scheme, over 44.14 crore Ayushman Cards were created, 12.03 crore hospitalisations were covered along with treatment worth Rs. 1,80,435 crore. Around 36,218 hospitals were empanelled including 19,659 public hospitals and 16,559 private hospitals.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Finally some good news! My grandmother in Tamil Nadu got her cataract surgery free under this scheme. She was hesitant initially but the process was smooth. The Jan Aushadhi Kendras have also helped us buy diabetes medicines at 70% less cost. More awareness needed in villages though - many still don't know about these benefits.
The numbers look impressive on paper - 1.2 crore seniors enrolled, 44 crore families insured. But ground reality in smaller towns is different. My uncle in a Tier-3 city had to travel 100km to find a private hospital that accepted the card. Public hospitals are overcrowded. We need more infrastructure, not just insurance cards. Still, progress is progress.
5.46 crore children vaccinated is a massive achievement! My sister works as an ASHA worker in Bihar and she says Mission Indradhanush has changed lives. Zero-dose children dropping from 0.11% to 0.06% shows the system is working. But we still need to tackle vaccine hesitancy in some communities - that's the next challenge. Proud of our health workers!
The telemedicine figure of 47 crore consultations is impressive! During COVID, eSanjeevani helped my mother-in-law get a consultation from our home in Kerala. But not everyone has smartphones or internet in rural areas. We need more offline options too. Also, generic medicines at Jan Aushadhi are good but the quality is sometimes inconsistent.
The ₹1,80,435 crore spent
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