Minister says PMJAY to be people's movement, but health system understaffed

Launched in September 2018, PMJAY, the national health protection scheme, offers insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh to 100 million poor households

While the Indian government has promised improved and universal healthcare, a new study has pointed out that the country’s healthcare system is under-staffed, does not meet global standards for density and is largely unqualified to meet rural health needs.

“We will make Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY and health and wellness centres into a people’s movement,” union health minister Harsh Vardhan told the media as he took charge of his ministry on June 3, 2019, referring to the prime minister’s national health protection programme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).