Arun Jaitley says 3 lakh poor benefited from Ayushman Bharat; stresses need to raise rural sector’s contribution

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday that about 3 lakh poor people have benefited from Ayushman Bharat health scheme in the last one-and-a-half months. Speaking at the function to release the book ‘Making of New India: Transformation under Modi Government’, Jaitley said that the NDA government is both pro-business and pro-poor as the country needs greater resources to fund the poverty alleviation programmes. “We are now close to about 3 lakh people in the last month and a half you have already benefited from hospitalisation under Ayushman Bharat and these are people belonging to the 10 crore poorest families in India,” Jaitley said. [caption id=“attachment_4851991” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September launched the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana which aims to provide a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10.74 crore poor families for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation through a network of empanelled health care providers. Jaitley said if the country has to grow at a faster pace, faster than rest of the world in the next one or two decades, then contribution from the rural sector has to go up. “If we are to grow at a fast pace, faster than rest of the world in next 1 or 2 decades, we have a potential to do that. The potential is clear. The contribution to GDP from rural areas is yet to come in a big way. A lot of development is required in eastern parts of India, the contribution of female gender (has to go up),” the minister said. In ‘New India’, the slogans of 1971 has become complete redundant, he said, adding “We are pro business and pro poor. You can’t have one without the other. “So the reforms which you take, which help the market economy to grow, make your pockets deeper and help you service those sections which have the first right to service those resources. This is our experience in the last 4.5 years”. The book, ‘Making of New India: Transformation under Modi Government’, contains 51 essays on themes ranging from economy to diplomacy, education to public health. President Ram Nath Kovind received the first copy of the book from Jaitley at a function in Rashtrapati Bhawan. Speaking on the occasion, the President said that contemporary governance has played a vital role in giving shape and form to an all-inclusive idea of ‘New India’. “Inclusiveness is more than just a slogan. The government has taken this philosophy to the centre of its policymaking. Numerous measures have been taken to ensure that socio-economic groups, communities and regions that had so far been left behind in the India growth story are mainstreamed in a holistic manner,” he said. Kovind noted that the book endeavours at weaving together an assessment of various policies and programmes and provides its readers a multidimensional view of the national development journey.