Ayushman Bharat Yojana: First open heart surgery gives a fresh lease of life to 50-year-old

Agra, Dec 2: Two months after the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna or Ayushman Bharat Yojna was launched, in a bid to provide comprehensive health care to the vulnerable groups, the first open heart surgery under the scheme was performed in the Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. The scheme launched in September is the world's largest healthcare scheme, which will reduce the financial burden of millions of families suffering from illnesses.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Agra district, Mukesh Vats said Devendra, 50, from Mainpuri, was the first beneficiary of the project.

Coming from low-income background, Devendra could not afford the treatment earlier, but the Ayushman Bharat came as a God-sent opportunity for him to lead a better and healthier life.

He was operated in Pushpanjali Hospital in Agra by a team of doctors including Atul Gupta and Dinesh Jain.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) or Ayushman Bharat, popularly known as Modicare, aims to provide Rs 5 lakh coverage to 10 crore poor families or nearly half a billion people. It is considered an important scheme politically for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to showcase to voters as he heads into general elections next year.

Earlier, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, as many as 3 lakh poor people have benefited from Ayushman Bharat health scheme in the last one-and-a-half months.