Prime Minister Narendra Modi asks Naveen Patnaik to link people of Odisha with Ayushman health insurance

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday asked Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to link the people of the state with the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme.

The scheme provides Rs 5 lakh health insurance to the people.

"I urge Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik to link people of state with Ayushman Bharat scheme to be launched on Sunday," he said addressing a public meeting after launching commencement of work for the country's first coal gassification-based fertiliser plant at Talcher.

Referring to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's famous assertion that only 15 paisa out of a Rupee sanctioned by the Centre for welfare of people reaches beneficiaries, he said, "They knew about the 'bimari'(illness) but had no vision to solve it."

The BJP government's decision to directly transfer money to bank accounts of beneficiaries has done away with the practise of middlemen in implementation of any welfare scheme, he said.

Pointing towards the overwhelming gathering of people at the rally, Modi said it "clearly showed" what the people of Odisha are thinking.

-PTI