Over 500 mn provided free treatment under Ayushman Bharat Yojana: President

More than 50 crore Indians have been provided free treatment facility under the 'Ayushman Bharat Yojana', President Droupadi Murmu said on Tuesday.

In her first address to the joint sitting of Parliament on the first day of the Budget session, Murmu said the health scheme has saved crores of poor from becoming poorer and preventing them from spending Rs 80,000 crore.

"A major cause of poverty is illness. A serious ailment completely shatters the morale of a poor family, leaving generations in debt. To free the poor from this worry, a nationwide Ayushman Bharat Yojana was launched. Under this scheme, more than 50 crore countrymen have been provided the facility of free treatment," she said.

Medicines are being made available at low cost in about 9,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras spread across the country. As a result, money worth Rs 20,000 crore of the poor have been saved in the past few years, she said.

"That means, from Ayushman Bharat and Jan Aushadhi schemes alone, the countrymen have got assistance worth Rs one lakh crore," the president stated.