In an effort to ensure that all beneficiaries under the Ayushman Bharat insurance scheme get their “golden card” for cashless treatment, the government has created an Ayushman app to get the card within minutes on mobile phones.
The application can be downloaded from any app store.
The app is part of the Ayushman Aapke Dwar 3.0, one of the three prongs of the Ayushman Bhav initiative, launched by President Droupadi Murmu from Gujarat on Wednesday.
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It is dedicated to the celebration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday. The other two components of the initiative are Ayushman Mela and Ayushman Village.
According to Health Ministry officials, beneficiaries will be able to log on to the platform with their mobile number, check whether they are eligible by using an Aadhaar number or family ID, and complete their e-KYC on the platform to get a digital copy of the card.
The app can be used by beneficiaries who already have the card to get a copy.
“With this initiative, India will write a new chapter in making healthcare affordable and accessible,” Murmu said after launching Ayushman Bhav in Gandhinagar.
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Murmu applauded the goals to further facilitate access of Ayushman cards, generate ABHA digital account IDs, and raise awareness about vital health schemes. She also praised health camps to be organised under Ayushman Mela, which, as per the government’s plans, will see 1.6 lakh health and wellness centres across the country conduct weekly health camps to screen people for non-communicable diseases, TB and providing services such as routine immunisation.
The initiative launched on Wednesday will continue year-round, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who joined the event virtually from Delhi, said.
He said: “The Prime Minister has given utmost importance to the service of humanity and nothing can be a better demonstration of this than his commitment to improving the healthcare services in the country. Earlier people had to travel long distances to avail super-specialty services — now these services will be offered at the level of CHCs itself.”
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The Ayushman Village initiative will recognise the efforts of villages that achieve 100% registration of Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries, 100% registration for Ayushman Bharat digital accounts, villages that have screened their people for TB and put 100% patients on treatment.
The two-week long period between the Prime Minister’s birthday on September 17 and Gandhi Jayanti will see other events such as organ donation pledging and blood donation.
Last year, the Health Ministry had led a nationwide blood donation drive during the same period that resulted in collection of more than 1 lakh units of blood.
Efforts of one lakh Ni-kshay mitra, who provide nutritional support to 12 lakh TB patients across the country, will also be recognised during this period. They will be urged to renew their commitment for the coming year as well, according to officials. The Ni-kshay mitra initiative was launched last November to supplement the Rs 500 nutritional benefit being provided by the government in line with the aim of eliminating TB by 2025.
