Bhubaneswar: In order to ensure healthcare services to all sections of society, the Odisha government would implement the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat along with its Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana, said chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday.
He was speaking at a function organised at Gothapatna in Khurda district on the occasion of the launch of several health projects in Odisha by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Prime Minister inaugurated the Central Drugs Testing Laboratory of the eastern zone at Gothapatna and a critical healthcare unit in Bargarh and laid the foundation stone for a Central research institute on yoga and naturopathy at Binchhagiri in Khurda through his virtual programme.
Modi extended the Centre’s health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat to all senior citizens of 70 years and above on the occasion of ninth Ayurveda Day and the birth anniversary of Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of medicine. He also launched various development projects worth around Rs 12,850 crore across the country.
Majhi said the twin health schemes of Ayushman Bharat and Gopabandhu Yojana would guarantee health services to all people of the state. The Ayushman Bharat, which has already covered 50 crore people, would be implemented in Odisha soon, he added.
Stating that his government accorded top priority to healthcare, the chief minister said, “An allocation of Rs 3,556 crore has been made in this year’s state budget for the two health schemes. Besides, the Health department has been allocated Rs 21,000 crore to enhance healthcare facilities.”
On the Central Drugs Testing Laboratory at Gothapatna, Majhi said. “It is a revolutionary step by the Centre. Now we need not send the drugs to outside the state to test its quality. It will not save time and money for the government besides helping the people,” he added.
