What is Ayushman Bharat or Modicare

New Delhi, Aug 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that the world's largest government-funded healthcare programme, Ayushman Bharat, will be rolled out on September 25, on the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay.

During his Independence Day address, Modi said that the PM Jan Aarogya Abhiyan will be started along with the Ayushman Bharat programme. This will help 50 crore individuals get Rs 5 lakh per year as health insurance, he also said.

From today onwards, till the next 6 weeks, the technology for Jan Aarogya Abihyan will be tested, Modi also said.

"The healthcare initiatives of the government will have a positive impact on 50 crore Indians. It is important to ensure that we free the poor of India from poverty due to which they cannot afford healthcare," Modi also said.

The Ayushman Bharat scheme will target poor, deprived rural families and identified occupational category of urban workers' families, 8.03 crore in rural and 2.33 crore in urban areas, and will cover around 50 crore people. The scheme will initially be launched on a pilot basis in some states.

Popularly referred to as "Modicare", it aims to provide coverage of Rs. 5 lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10 crore poor families.

Ten major states are yet to sign up for the ambitious scheme. They include Odisha, Punjab, Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Goa.

The Prime Minister had inaugurated the first 'health and wellness centre' under Ayushman Bharat in Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh in April, on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti. An allocation of Rs 10,000 crore for the project was made by the Centre. The Centre is yet to release its share of funds to the states.