ON AUGUST 8, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) tabled a report in Parliament highlighting gross irregularities in the Centre's flagship universal health coverage scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).
From fake beneficiary accounts to the empanelment of ill-equipped hospitals, the country's nodal auditing agency found many challenges with the implementation of the scheme that provides an annual health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for hospitalisations through a network of public and empanelled private healthcare providers. The scheme, set to complete five years this September, promises cashless and paperless hospitalisation and treatment.
PMJAY has an aim of covering 107.4 million of the poorest households identified under the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) database. In reality, only 18.9 million or 17.5 per cent of the poorest households were registered until July 2021.
The report raises questions about the quality of the data used to identify the beneficiaries. National Health Authority (NHA), the implementing agency of the scheme, "has used SECC database of 2011 as eligibility criteria for the scheme. The database was more than seven years old at the time of inception of the scheme. Looking into economic development and employment opportunities since then, it cannot be denied that many households may have become ineligible for inclusion while others may have become eligible for the SECC under the existing criteria," the audit report reads.
Owing to the poor quality of the database, CAG could not trace 30 per cent of the beneficiaries. The beneficiary list also includes 110,000 government pensioners and their family members who cumulatively availed treatment worth *28.87 crore under the scheme.
Esta historia es de la edición September 01, 2023 de Down To Earth.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición September 01, 2023 de Down To Earth.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara