Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (DV)
Mangalore, Nov 16: "Ayush Pushti biscuits consists of 15 Ayurvedic herbal ingredients which will help tackle malnutrition among children. The new scheme aims at improving their immunity, digestion, concentration and sleep pattern,” said U T Khadar State minister for health.
He was addressing the press after distributing ‘Ayush Pushti’ biscuit samples to journalists here at the Circuit House on Saturday November 16.
‘Ayush Pushti’ biscuits will be distributed among 3,000 children in various Anganwadi areas in Bagalkot and a few parts of Jamakhandi on a pilot basis.
"The government has also assigned 200 doctors and 150 Anganwadi teachers to examine the changes in children once every 15 days by quantifying their weight and height. After a three-month research, the scheme will be extended to other parts of the state," he said.
If this scheme works well, the union government has ensured to provide a grant through NHRM. Currently, the biscuits are being baked by outsourcing but in the future Ayush department will set up its own baking unit and it will also be introduced for the open market, he said.
Rajiv Gandhi Arogya Shree
He also asserted that the Government has planned to extend Rajiv Gandhi Arogya Shree medical aid to both BPL and APL ration card holders. In this scheme, the government will provide free medical treatment to both the APL and BPL card holders, but APL card holders would have to spend 10% of the total expenditure incurred for treatment.
The scheme will include medical aid for around 400 various tertiary diseases with the aim of providing universal health coverage. As many as 158 hospitals in the state and nine hospitals in the district have already been notified in this regard, he said.
To make it a hassle-free procedure for the Hyderabad-Karnataka and Belgaum-Karnataka region people, the government has also spoken to hospitals in Karnoor, Secunderbad, and Sholapur, Maharashtra. There will be an expert panel to scrutinize and monitor hospitals to prevent misuse of this scheme.
In Dakshina Kannada nine hospitals have been identified with the scheme including K S Hegde, Yenopoya, Father Muller, AJ Hospital, Indiana, Omega, and KMC hospitals, he said.
Khadar also said, “UNAIDS has chosen me and one minister from Punjab to attend the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) Thailand which will commence on November 18 and go on till November 22.
He further assured that all roads of his constituency will be repaired within 6 months after the required tenders are passed.