Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Wednesday flagged off 300 air-conditioned ambulances exclusively for mothers and infants.
This ambulance service, launched under the '102' National Ambulance Services, will carry mothers and their infants to the nearest health centre free of cost.
Yadav said the state government was taking sincere steps to improve the healthcare scenario in the state.
In the last two and a half years, number of ambulances in the state have surpassed any such service anywhere else in the country, he added.
By combining both the 108 and 102 ambulance services, the number of ambulances stood at 3,000 making it the most extensive service of this type in India, the chief minister said.
The new ambulances have general packet radio service (GPRS) and geographic information system (GIS) installed in them.
Gonda and Basti divisions, suffering from brain fever, have been assimilated under the new service to enable ailing children to get timely treatment, health department officials said.