PM’s speech at the valedictory function of ‘Arogya Manthan’

On stage, my cabinet colleagues, Dr. Harsh Vardhan Ji and Ashwini Kumar Choubey ji, representatives from different states and institutions, all friends associated with Ayushman Bharat as well as all the beneficiaries of the scheme present here today! Brothers and sisters, Today is the third day of Navratri. Today the Chandraghanta form of the Mother is worshipped. It is believed that the ten-armed goddess Chandraghanta destroys the sufferings of the entire world with the coolness and mildness of the moon. What can be a better coincidence than being able to discuss about the first year of Ayushman Bharat Yojana, which has destroyed the sufferings of more than 50 crore poor people of India. Friends, This first year of Ayushman Bharat has been a resolution, a dedication and a process of learning. It is the power of India’s resolve that we are running the world’s largest health care scheme with success in India. And behind this success is a sense of dedication, and goodwill. This dedication belongs to every state and Union Territory of the country; this dedication belongs to thousands of government and private hospitals in the country; this dedication belongs to every employee, every medical practitioner, Ayushman Mitra, Asha workers, social organizations, public representatives, that is, everyone. Brothers and sisters, Today due to this dedication, the country is saying with confidence and pride – ‘Saal Ek, Ayushman Anek.’ Providing the poor, the 46 lakh poor families across the country a hope for a healthy life from the hopelessness of diseases, is indeed a great achievement. In this one year, if any person’s land, house or jewelry or any other item has been saved from being sold or mortgaged for covering the expenses of treatment against any disease, then this Ayushman can be considered as a great success in India. Friends, I had the opportunity to talk to some of the beneficiaries a short while ago. In the last one year, even during the elections, I have constantly tried to communicate with all such friends across the country. After talking to them, one can realize the kind of changes Ayushman Bharat – ‘PMJAY’ is bringing about in the lives of the poor. And in a way PMJAY has now become the Jai or victory of the poor. When the child of the poor is healthy, when the sole earner of the household goes back to work healthy, then one understands the meaning of being healthy. And so, those people and institutions dedicated and devoted to the success of Ayushman Bharat ‘PMJAY’ have the best wishes of crores of poor people of the country. I congratulate every partner involved in this great work. Brothers and sisters, In this first year, with determination and dedication, we have learned a lot though experience. Now I have also seen the one year journey through the exhibition before coming here. It depicted the way we have overcome every challenge over time, made technical expansion continuously, maintained constant communication with every stake holder, and removed doubts and apprehensions. The process of learning, dialogue and improvement will go on continuously. Friends, How the reach and monitoring the scheme can be made more effective; how to make it easily accessible to the beneficiaries; how to overcome the problems of hospitals – all these aspects have been discussed here in detail during the last two days. Candid views have been placed here from quality to capacity building. Some states have shared their experiences especially with regard to the universal health care coverage or how the scope of this scheme should be applicable to every family, and these should be given serious consideration. It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that for every poor, every citizen, the doors of the hospital should be open in difficult times, and better treatment should be available to them. Brothers and sisters, Ayushman Bharat is one of the revolutionary steps of New India. Not only because it is playing an important role in saving the lives of the common man and the poor of the country, but also because it is a symbol of the collective resolve and strength of 130 crore people representing India. That is why I am saying that earlier also efforts were made in our country to provide cheap and better health care services to the poor. Every state and every Union Territory has done everything possible at its level. Despite the good intention of the states, neither the poor were getting that benefit, nor was there any improvement in the field of medical infrastructure. But Ayushman Bharat has proved that whenever the collective strength of India is applied, then its benefit and power have far-reaching effect. Ayushman Bharat ensures that the patients from any part of the country are benefitted which was previously impossible. This is the reason that in the last one year, about 50 thousand beneficiaries have taken advantage of this scheme in other states, i.e. outside their state in a good hospital. Brothers and sisters, No one in the country wants to move away from his/her home, district, or state for treatment, unless compelled to do so. Every state is making efforts for every citizen of the country to provide the best healthcare facilities near home. It is also true that in those parts of the country where health facilities are better, there is more pressure; but it is the responsibility of every Indian to ensure that no citizen of the country should be deprived of modern healthcare services. Ayushman Bharat is reinforcing this sentiment. Friends, Ayushman Bharat is a holistic solution for the whole of India and a healthy India. This is in line with the government’s idea under which we are working together comprehensively instead of thinking in isolation to deal with India’s problems and challenges. A few days ago, there was a program in the United Nations about Universal Health Care, in which I had the opportunity to talk about India. The world is amazed and surprised at the way the holistic approach is being followed with respect to health care in India and the scale at which the work is being done. Brothers and sisters, I told the delegates from all over the world about the way we are building a healthy India on four strong pillars. First: Preventive Health Care; Second: Affordable Health Care; Third: Supply Side Reforms and Fourth: Mission Mode Interventions like National Nutrition Campaign. If we talk about the first pillar, today cleanliness, yoga, AYUSH, vaccination and fitness are being emphasized so that diseases related to lifeline are minimized. Moreover, diseases spread by animals also trouble humans. And so this time we have taken up the task in a mission mode – freeing India from the Foot-and-mouth disease found in animals. That is, we are concerned about the animals too; we have not forgotten them. I also talked about another pillar there. The second pillar, that is, constant efforts are being made to ensure that the common man of the country gets the best and cheapest treatment. Brothers and sisters, Ayushman Bharat scheme is giving a lot of boost to these two pillars. Whether it is the construction of more than one and a half lakh Health and Wellness centers across the country or the facility of free treatment up to five lakh rupees every year, the role of Ayushman Bharat is important. Friends, Ayushman Bharat is also strengthening our third pillar, the supply side. The demand for healthcare services has increased in the country due to Ayushman Bharat. Now those poor patients are also coming to the hospital who had never even thought about treatment. They could not ever imagine treatment in private hospitals. Today, out of more than 18,000 hospitals serving PMJAY, about 10,000, i.e. more than half of such hospitals are in private sector. This participation is going to increase further in the future. Friends, As the demand is increasing, so is the network of modern medical infrastructure in small cities of the country. Many new hospitals are going to come up in the future. New employment opportunities are coming up. According to an estimate, about 11 lakh new jobs will be created in the coming five to seven years only due to the demand generated by the Ayushman Bharat scheme. This is such a huge number that one can gauge it from the fact that only the railways create more jobs than this. Brothers and sisters, It is very important to train our young friends for these employment opportunities. This is the reason why the infrastructure related to medical education is being expanded and the policy is constantly being modified. On the one hand, the number of seats in medical education is being increased in the country, while on the other hand a seamless and transparent arrangement is being made ranging from admission to regulation. Whether it is the decision to set up 75 new government medical colleges across the country or the creation of new National Medical Commission in the country, the medical sector is going to be benefitted for sure. The National Medical Commission will accelerate the expansion of medical education in the country, improve its quality and remove corruption. Friends, To make the Ayushman Bharat scheme user friendly, constant efforts are being made to make it foolproof. And I am told that the IT system associated with it has been upgraded to PMJAY 2.0 and is constantly being upgraded. The app launched today will help the beneficiaries a lot. But we need more technical solutions to make this scheme more efficient and more comprehensive. Ayushman Bharat has different components; so, an effective and accessible system is needed to link these components. We have to develop a technology based system of diagnosis, referral and follow up care, from Health and Wellness centers to Operation Theaters of major hospitals. We have to move towards the situation where the health data of any person registered in the Health and Wellness Center of the village is used in the diagnosis of that person’s illness. On referring to larger hospitals, this data could play an effective role in further treatment. For this, we all have to think, and we will have to add new generation of people. Friends, The PMJAY Startup Grand Challenge launched today is going to play a significant role. And I would urge the youth power of the country, especially the IT Professionals, to take up this work of humanity by accepting this challenge and to come up with a best solution in the future. Through this, start-ups working in the health sector across the country are being linked with Ayushman Bharat. I once again urge all the young entrepreneurs and innovators of the country to take advantage of this opportunity. Brothers and sisters, New India’s health care system is truly going to be an example for the whole world. Ayushman Bharat Yojana will also be a major contributor to this. I hope our commitment to make crores of people of our country healthy be strengthened further and may our efforts be successful. With this desire, I thank you very much from the heart and my best wishes to all of you.