Telangana to link Arogyasri to Centre's Ayushman

Hyderabad: The Telangana State government has taken a U-turn on the implementation of the Union government's prestigious Ayushman Bharat scheme. The government has informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the government has taken a decision to dovetail the state-sponsored Arogyasri scheme with the Ayushman Bharat scheme launched by the Union government to provide free medical treatment to the needy.

The State government was opposing the enforcement of the Centre's health scheme on various grounds. The BJP also criticised the state government for not implementing the central scheme in recent times.

Participating in a video conference with the PM on Wednesday, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar said that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has taken a the decision to dovetail Arogyasri with the centrally sponsored health scheme.

The State official also informed Modi that the State has through Mission Bhagiratha has provided safe tap water to all households. The Union government also acknowledged that 98.5% of the households in Telangana have been covered with safe drinking water tap water. Modi reviewed the progress of various infrastructure projects, Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana – and also Jal Jeevan Mission.