PM Modi launches projects worth Rs 12,850 Cr, extends Ayushman Bharat to everyone over 70 years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched development projects worth nearly Rs 12,850 crore and extended his government's flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above.

The major push in the health sector was unveiled on the occasion of the ninth Ayurveda Day and the birth anniversary of Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of medicine.

Modi also inaugurated phase II of India's first All India Institute of Ayurveda in the national capital, which includes a Panchakarma hospital, an Ayurvedic pharmacy for drug manufacturing, a sports medicine unit, a central library, an IT and startup incubation centre, and a 500-seat auditorium.

In an innovative usage of drone technology to enhance service delivery and make healthcare more accessible, Modi launched drone services at 11 tertiary healthcare institutions.

These are AIIMS-Rishikesh in Uttarakhand, AIIMS-Bibinagar in Telangana, AIIMS-Guwahati in Assam, AIIMS-Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, AIIMS-Jodhpur in Rajasthan, AIIMS-Patna in Bihar, AIIMS-Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh, AIIMS-Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, AIIMS-Raipur in Chhattisgarh, AIIMS-Mangalagiri in Andhra Pradesh and RIMS-Imphal in Manipur.

The prime minister also launched a helicopter emergency medical service from AIIMS Rishikesh, which will help deliver medical care speedily.

Modi launched a U-WIN portal that seeks to benefit pregnant women and infants by fully digitising the vaccination process. It will ensure timely administration of life-saving vaccines to pregnant women and children (from birth to 16 years) against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases.

The prime minister also launched a portal for allied and healthcare professionals and institutes. It will act as a centralised database of existing healthcare professionals and institutes.

Modi also inaugurated three medical colleges at Mandsaur, Neemuch and Seoni in Madhya Pradesh, besides facility and service extensions at various AIIMS: Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh, Kalyani in West Bengal, Patna in Bihar, Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Guwahati in Assam, and in New Delhi, which also include a Jan Aushadhi Kendra.

Modi also inaugurated a super speciality block at Government Medical College, Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and a critical care block in Bargarh, Odisha.

The prime minister laid the foundation stones of five nursing colleges in Shivpuri, Ratlam, Khandwa, Rajgarh and Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, 21 critical care blocks in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Manipur, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan under the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, and several facilities and service extensions at AIIMS in New Delhi and Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur.

Among other projects, Modi inaugurated an ESIC hospital at Indore in Madhya Pradesh and laid the foundation stone for such hospitals at Faridabad in Haryana, Bommasandra and Narasapur in Karnataka, Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, and Atchutapuram in Andhra Pradesh.

These projects are expected to bring healthcare benefits to around 55 lakh ESI beneficiaries.

The other projects whose foundation stones were laid include a central research institute in yoga and naturopathy at Khordha in Odisha and Raipur in Chhattisgarh, centres of excellence at NIPER-Ahmedabad for medical devices, NIPER-Hyderabad for bulk drugs, NIPER-Guwahati for phytopharmaceuticals, and NIPER-Mohali for anti-bacterial anti-viral drug discovery and development.

In a major boost to the Make in India initiative in the healthcare sector, the prime minister also inaugurated five projects under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for medical devices and bulk drugs at Vapi in Gujarat, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh.

These units will manufacture high-end medical devices, such as body implants and critical care equipment, along with important bulk drugs.