Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir topped in registration of beneficiaries in the past less than one year across the country, Union Minister in Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh on Monday said that post snapping of internet service in Jammu and Kashmir, more than 7,000 beneficiaries were treated under Ayushman Bharat scheme.

“Although availing Ayushman Bharat scheme benefit is an online process but despite snapped internet facility in Jammu and Kashmir after August 5, more than 7,000 cases of expenditure disposal were treated offline either manually or by officials of the Ayushman Bharat,” Dr Singh here saidwhile speaking to the beneficiaries from parts of Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar,Kathua, Reasi at an event organised on ‘Diwali Milan’ at his officialresidence.

Terming beneficiaries as ‘Modis of Ayushman’, Dr Singhappealed them to spread more awareness about the scheme so that more people canavail this facility, adding, “the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which will comeinto existence as Union Territory after October 31, has topped the chart ofregistration of beneficiaries under Ayushman scheme.”

Mobile internet was snapped in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5after the Government of India abrogated Article 370 and bifurcated the stateinto two Union Territories.

He further added that over 60 per cent beneficiaries wereregistered across the state from December 1, 2018, when the scheme wasintroduced till date so far and added, “around Rs 22.5 crore has been sanctionunder this scheme to various service providers out of which Rs 15.58 crore havealready been paid to the hospitals by the Insurance company.”

‘Besides government hospitals, 30 private and 126 publichospitals have also started giving benefits to the people having ‘GoldenCard’,’ said the Union Minister.

He said that after 2014, when the Narendra Modi took over asthe Prime Minister of the country, many schemes for the welfare and benefit ofthe people were introduced, adding, “Modi Government never benefitted anyonefor ‘vote-bank’ but he is working for the masses and people in every nook andcorner of the country.”

Earlier CEO/Director of Ayushman Bharat Scheme, J&K,Bhupinder Kumar said that since the introduction of this scheme, more than37,000 people have availed the benefits across the state and more than 11 lakhpeople have been issued the ‘Golden Card’ (e-Cards).

“With revised rates, more hospitals including the corporate,will also be providing treatment to the beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharatscheme,” he added and said that more than 37,000 hospitalisations done for thetreatment of serious illness across the state.

“About 59 per cent of the hospitalisations happened inprivate hospitals and as on date, 156 hospitals are empanelled in the state ofwhich 126 (81 percent) are public hospitals and 30 (19 percent) are private,”said the CEO.

As per official figures, till October 15, 2019, there weretotal 3,55,582 beneficiaries in Jammu district out of which 1,39,472 wereregistered so far, 39.42 per cent treated and 1,23,841 total Golden Cards weregenerated.

Some of the beneficiaries speaking on the occasion expressedsatisfaction over introduction of Ayushman Bharat scheme and shared theirexperiences.

While thanking to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thebeneficiaries also appealed to Dr Jitendra Singh to get more facilitiesintroduced in the hospitals treating them under Ayushman Bharat.