After over one month since the launch of the expanded Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to provide insurance cover to those aged 70 and above, the Centre is using enrolment drives and IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) campaigns, along with some help from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's machinery, for adding beneficiaries under the scheme.
This comes as over 2.68 million Ayushman Bharat Vaya Vandana cards have been issued since the scheme's launch to date, with the number making up for a modest 4.47 per cent achievement of the Centre's estimate of 60 million eligible beneficiaries under the scheme.
In Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar districts of Uttar Pradesh, several BJP functionaries have started enrolment camps. Messages inviting residents of various housing societies in Ghaziabad for medical camps and Ayushman enrolment via mobile phones have started doing the rounds on WhatsApp.
One such invitation by a district BJP functionary in Ghaziabad asks residents to attend a free 'Ayushman-cum-dental checkup camp', with Aadhaar cards and mobile numbers linked to the card.
A similar sight could be seen in north Mumbai's Mulund, with local BJP leaders leading the charge. In a post on social media app X, Mihir Kotecha, the BJP MLA from Mulund, shared that his team had registered over 1,000 senior citizens aged 70 or above in three days of a special camp.
"The registrations would go on in my office till January 15, to cover almost 35,000 eligible beneficiaries living in the assembly constituency," posts on his X timeline stated.
While the BJP machinery's involvement in reaching out to beneficiaries was also seen during this year's general election campaign, the NHA (National Health Authority) is now working to create awareness among senior citizens for the expanded AB-PMJAY scheme.
-- Sanket Koul/Business Standard
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