“I am pleased to know that more than 39 lakh people have availed cashless treatment worth over Rs. 6,100 crore for serious illnesses since the launch of AB-PMJAY. This has resulted in savings of Rs. 12,000 crore to the beneficiary families.” This was stated by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare today at the high-level review of the implementation of Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). The Union Health Ministerappreciated the progress of the scheme as it nears completion of its first year since launch and sated that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has envisioned the scheme for the health and wellness of the poorest and most vulnerable of the country’s people. “We have to ensure that the vision of our beloved and inspirational Prime Minister is fulfilled,” he emphasized.

Dr Harsh Vardhan further stated that it is important that this initial momentum be maintained in the implementation across the country and the states put in greater strength and efficiency in scaling up their progress and providing seamless health services to the last mile.At the review meeting, Dr Harsh Vardhan also launched the newly designed grievance management portal of AB-PMJAY. This is an online system to help members of the general public to register their grievances and get assisted support.

Dr Harsh Vardhan also gave the go-ahead tothe preparations for the first anniversary of the scheme. Several events are being planned across the country to commemorate the occasion. 23rd September will be celebrated as Ayushman Bharat Diwas. The fortnight of 15th – 30th September will be marked as the “Ayushman Bharat Pakhwara” where several activities will be carried out in the States to generate awareness around the scheme and celebrate this gift of health to the nation.  A mega national event “Gyan Sangam” will be organised from 29th – 30th September in New Delhi to highlight the progress and achievements of AB-PMJAY.

The Union Health Minister also visited the different teams and mingled with officials asking them about their work in NHA. He took a deep interest in the cyber security and privacy mechanisms set up at NHA to protect the beneficiaries’ data. He appreciated that NHA has from the very beginning developed the necessary policies and guidelines and adopted the highest global standards and principles including the HIPAA of US Healthcare, GDPR of the European Union and ISO 27001 to safeguard data of crores of citizens. He emphasized that the highest standards of security and privacy, and zero tolerance for corruption and fraud be the cornerstone of the culture of AB-PMJAY.