WHO DG 'impressed' with Ayushman Bharat scheme; says it's a 'great commitment'

The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Ayushman Bharat initiative which aims to provide insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per annum to 50 crore people, calling it a "great commitment".

The ambitious healthcare scheme, touted as the world's largest, aims to benefit more than 10 crore poor families in the country.

"Very impressed with India's initiative on Ayushman Bharat or universal Health Coverage! Thank you Prime Minister narendramodi. Great commitment! Thank you Minister of Health, JPNadda, for meeting me today!," Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus tweeted Thursday night.

Thanking the WHO DG, Union Health Minister J P Nadda said it was Prime Minister Modi's vision to make healthcare "accessible and affordable" to all.

"Thank you for your kind words DrTedros & a very fruitful meeting. Our PM envisions to make healthcare accessible and affordable for all. Under PMJAY, an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh will be extended to 50 Crore people- "equal the size of the population of America, Canada, Mexico"," the minister tweeted in response.

During his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort this year, Modi had said his government would launch the scheme on September 25, the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay.