Odisha govt increases health cover for women

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday announced that insurance coverage for women under the BJD’s health insurance proposal has been raised to Rs 7 lakh from Rs 5 lakh.

“During discussions at Ama Gaon Ama Bikash session today, Ms Mamata from Malkangiri called for enhancing Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana cover for women. Taking note, we’ve decided to increase the amount from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh for women. This will hugely benefit our mothers & sisters,” Patnaik tweeted.

He accepted a proposal by a Malkangiri woman while holding a session of Ama Gaon Ama Bikas — a direct fund disbursement programme for development activities. Launched in March, the programme aims to connect rural Odisha directly with the chief minister, wherein four mobile video vans reach gram panchayats every week and highlight state programmes. Residents are given an opportunity to interact with the CM via video-conference.
Patnaik also released a video on Twitter explaining his reasons for the announcement, “We know for poor people, health expense is a big burden. Therefore we will begin BSKY from August 15. People will get coverage for Rs 5 lakh under this scheme. But women have more health concerns”.

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee leader Niranjan Patnaik hit out at the CM. In a series of tweets, he claimed he would show “the mirror to BJD government over the status of women in Odisha”.