Bhubaneswar, Jan 13 (FN Bureau) Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PMJAY) will bring about a paradigm shift in the medical treatment of Odisha’s people, particularly those in rural areas, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday said. Approximately 1.3 crore families and over 23 lakh senior citizens above 70 years of age in Odisha will benefit from medical facilities under this scheme, Majhi stated. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana was signed between the State Health Department and the National Health Authority of the Union Government during a function at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Monday.
With this, the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana has been integrated (converged) with Odisha’s Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Majhi said the Odisha government is working towards a significant transformation in the state’s health sector. He emphasized that these changes will play a pivotal role in achieving the goal of building a prosperous Odisha by 2036 and a developed India by 2047. He announced that the state government will establish an Ayushman Arogya Mandir in every panchayat, where health workers and yoga instructors will be deployed. Majhi pointed out that although the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana was launched by the Prime Minister in 2018, the people of Odisha had previously been excluded from its benefits.
Now, with the scheme linked to Odisha’s own Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana, more than 1 crore families in the state will gain access to health facilities in 29,000 hospitals across the country. Currently, medical services are available in only 900 hospitals, he noted. The Chief Minister further stated that the current budget allocates approximately Rs. 21,000 crore for the health sector, marking a 32.2 percent increase from the previous year and representing 8 percent of the total state budget. Under this scheme, male beneficiaries will receive medical coverage of up to Rs. 5 lakh, while female beneficiaries will receive coverage of up to Rs. 10 lakh.