'Country entering new and extraordinary phase’: PM Modi launches Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission
Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted that the initiative will especially benefit the poor and middle class.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission via video conferencing, describing this as a “new and extraordinary phase that the country is entering today.” This mission, he said, has the power to bring “revolutionary changes” in India's health facilities.
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Recalling the launch of Ayushman Bharat in 2018, PM Modi expressed his happiness at the rollout of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission three years later. He also said that this scheme will benefit the poor and middle class the most by eliminating all problems they face in getting medical treatment.
This initiative has enabled India to administer nearly 900 million Covid-19 vaccine doses thus far, Prime Minister Modi said, adding that even advanced countries do not have technology such as this.
“It will bring all stakeholders in the field of health on a single platform and also help a patient connect with a doctor who speaks the same language,” he further remarked.
PM Modi also drew an analogy between tourism and health. “Today is World Tourism Day as well. You must be wondering what is the connection between health and tourism. But there is. Tell me, will tourists like to visit a place which does not have emergency health services?” he asked.
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The Prime Minister then touched upon the reach of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), saying that no other country has a digital infrastructure has huge as India's, which has about 800 million internet users and around 430 million bank accounts under Jan Dhan Yojana.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission:
PM Modi announced the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission during his Independence Day speech last year. It was later implemented in six Union territories as a pilot project.
The key components of this scheme, which is also called the National Digital Health Mission or the PM Digital Health Mission, are a health identity card for every citizen, a healthcare professionals registry, and healthcare facilities registries.