Ayushman Bharat scheme crosses 1 cr beneficiaries, Amitabh Bachchan congratulates

number of people who have benefited from 'Ayushman Bharat' scheme has crossed one crore-mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, ting that initiative has had a positive impact on several lives. Megastar Amitabh Bachchan took to his Twitter handle to congratulate for achieving this milestone.

In September 2018, Modi had launched Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Ayushman Bharat. It has been termed as biggest government-sponsored healthcare scheme in world.

"It would make every Indian proud that number of Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries has crossed 1 crore. In less than two years, this initiative has had a positive impact on so many lives," prime minister wrote on Twitter. He congratulated all beneficiaries and ir families and prayed for ir good health He appreciated doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and all ors associated with Ayushman Bharat, saying ir efforts have made it largest healthcare programme in world.

"This initiative has won trust of several Indians, especially poor and downtrodden," he said. One of biggest benefits of Ayushman Bharat is portability, prime minister pointed out. "Beneficiaries can get top quality and affordable medical care t only where y registered but also in or parts of India. This helps those who work away from home or are registered at a place where y don't belong," he explained.

He said during his official tours, he would interact with Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries. "Sadly, that is t possible se days but I did have a great telephone interaction with Pooja Thapa from Meghalaya, 1 croreth beneficiary," he said. prime minister shared audio clip of conversation in which Thapa, a soldier's wife, explains about surgery she underwent in Shillong using Ayushman Bharat facility. Her husband is posted in Manipur and could t be with her due to coronavirus lockdown. Her two small children are being taken care of by neighbours.

On being asked by prime minister, Thapa said she did t have to pay for surgery and medicines. She said without scheme card, she would have found it difficult to go for surgery without a loan. 

(with PTI inputs)