Tarun Karthick
Port Blair, 07 December 2023
In a recent meeting held at New Delhi, Mr. Vishal Jolly, National Executive Member of the BJP, engaged with Mr. Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. The primary agenda of their discourse was centered around the integration of Ration Card (APL) data of A&N Islands into the Beneficiary Identification System 2.0 (BIS 2.0) to facilitate the prompt accessibility of benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) – Ayushman Bharat Scheme for eligible Islanders.
Highlighting the significance of PMJAY as a family-centric health scheme, Jolly emphasized that all members of eligible families are encompassed within its ambit. He underscored the necessity of ensuring the integration of the Ration Card data into BIS 2.0, crucial for generating unique PMJAY IDs and enabling eligible beneficiaries to avail themselves of the scheme’s benefits.
The Andaman & Nicobar Administration had previously merged the UT Health Scheme ANISHI with AB-PMJAY as directed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, on August 15, 2020. Subsequent to this merger, several categories of beneficiary families became eligible under PMJAY in the A & N Islands:
1. Families meeting the criteria outlined in the Socio-Economic & Caste Census (SECC) 2011.
2. National Food Security Act (NFSA) Families (Priority Households and Antyodaya Anna Yojana).
3. Resident families with an annual income below Rs 3 Lakhs.
4. Pensioners of the A & N Administration and their dependents.
Mr. Jolly Mentioned that the data for the above categories had been successfully loaded into BIS 1.0 and AB-PMJAY cards were generated until September 12, 2023. He added that the issue arose as for some reason the data for categories C & D were not integrated into BIS 2.0. This hurdle prevented the creation of PMJAY cards for these beneficiaries over the last two months, impeding their access to necessary medical treatments, especially for severe ailments, despite referrals to authorised hospitals in Chennai or Kolkata.
Mr. Jolly highlighted the distressing situation faced by underprivileged patients, urging the urgent integration of Ration Card (APL) data of A & N Islands in BIS 2.0. He brought to the Hon’ble Minister’s attention the efforts made by the A & N Administration in sharing required ration card data with the National Health Authority (NHA), aiming to resolve the issue promptly.
Assuring prompt action, Minister Mandaviya took a serious note of the situation and committed to resolving the integration issue on a priority basis, ensuring the seamless inclusion of all eligible categories under the PMJAY-Ayushman Bharat Scheme without delay.