Guwahati, Jan 23 (IANS): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched the 'Ayushman CAPF' plan, extending the healthcare benefits of the Central health insurance scheme to the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and their dependents.
During a function at the CRPF Group Centre at Amingaon in Guwahati, the Home Minister distributed Ayushman CAPF health cards among seven personnel from the seven different CAPFs.
Under the Ayushman CAPF scheme, around 28 lakh personnel from seven CAPFs -- Central Reserve Police Force, Assam Rifles, National Security Guard, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal -- and their families would be covered by the 'Ayushman Bharat: Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana' (AB PM-JAY).
A joint initiative by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Health Authority (NHA), the scheme would provide cashless healthcare services to the serving CAPF personnel and their family members. It would be implemented across the country in a phased manner.
The convergence between Ayushman Bharat and CAPF is a first of its kind initiative leveraging strengths of the existing robust IT framework, access to the network of various private hospitals and portability of services across the country.
This initiative would help in moving away from any paper-based manual process of availing healthcare benefits by the CAPF personnel and their families to a paperless service at NHA's IT platform.
In addition, a 24x7 call centre, online grievance management system, fraud and abuse control system, and real-time monitoring dashboards are the other key features of the scheme.
A MoU was signed on Saturday between the NHA and the Union Home Ministry in the presence of Shah, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai and Assam Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at the CRPF Group Centre.
Later, Shah tweeted: "Furthering PM Narendra Modi ji's efforts towards the welfare of our CAPF personnel, launching the historic 'Ayushman CAPF' healthcare scheme in Guwahati, Assam."