Ayushman Sahakar Scheme is a scheme to financially assist the cooperatives in the country for the holistic development of healthcare infrastructure. It covers every dimension of the country’s health system. This includes health infrastructure, health insurance, and technological involvement in the health sector on the lines of the National Health Policy 2017.

Ayushman Sahakar Scheme is one of the most important topics for the UPSC IAS exam. It covers a significant part of the Government Schemes section in the General Studies Paper-2 Syllabus and current events of national importance in general studies paper -1 of the UPSC Prelims Syllabus. 

In this article, we shall study the objectives, salient features, needs, and significance of the Ayushman Sahakar Scheme.

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What is Ayushman Sahakar Scheme?

The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, introduced the Ayushman Sahakar Program. The scheme was introduced on October 19, 2020. NCD created and provided funding for the plan. The COVID-19 pandemic established the seeds for stronger healthcare infrastructure, making the commencement of the programme significantly. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare is in charge of the Scheme. The scheme's formulation and funding are the responsibility of the NCDC.

Objectives of the Ayushman Sahakar Scheme

Ayushman Sahakar Scheme focuses mainly on the development and promotion of health infrastructure. Besides this, the scheme looks forward to aligning itself with other schemes, missions, and programmes of the Government of India. The major objectives are:

• Affordable Health Care: To provide necessary aid to cooperatives to provide affordable healthcare facilities to the public with better facilities.
• National Digital Health Mission: To assist cooperatives in achieving the objectives of the National Digital Health Mission; To create a Digital Health Ecosystem supporting universal health coverage.
• AYUSH Promotion: To promote AYUSH facilities via cooperative societies. It includes the six Indian medicine systems practised and prevalent in South Asia.
• Comprehensive Healthcare: To provide financial assistance to cooperatives to develop a comprehensive healthcare system, including hospital infrastructure, education, services, and various other healthcare-related areas.

Read about MGNREGA here.

Salient Features of the Ayushman Sahakar Scheme

Salient Features of the Ayushman Sahakar Scheme:

• Government initiative to strengthen the cooperative healthcare sector in India.
• Provides financial support through Ayushman Sahakar Fund. Fund has a corpus of Rs. 10,000 crores.
• Supports the development and modernization of cooperative healthcare facilities.
• Available to cooperative societies, including banks and credit societies.
• Promotes the establishment of healthcare infrastructure like hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic centers.
• Encourages adoption of modern healthcare technologies and best practices.
• Improves access to quality healthcare, especially in rural areas.
• Enhances the cooperative sector's participation in government healthcare initiatives.
• Aims to uplift the cooperative healthcare sector. It thus contributes to overall healthcare infrastructure development.

Know more about the Health Care Delivery System in India!

Activities Covered Under Ayushman Sahakar Scheme

Ayushman Sahakar scheme has listed down certain activities to be covered under the NCDC assistant.

• Improve existing cooperative healthcare facilities and build new ones.
• Upgrade medical equipment and technology in cooperative healthcare institutions.
• Train healthcare professionals in cooperative organizations.
• Promote research and innovation in cooperative healthcare institutions.
• Improve the quality of healthcare services provided by cooperative organizations.
• Integrate cooperative healthcare institutions with government healthcare initiatives.
• Adopt digital healthcare solutions and telemedicine in cooperative healthcare setups.
• Support preventive healthcare, health awareness campaigns, and community health programs in cooperative organizations.

Also, read about KUSUM Scheme.

Need For Ayushman Sahakar Scheme

• The scheme helps to make the cooperative healthcare sector stronger.
• It helps people get good healthcare, especially in rural and poor areas.
• The scheme helps to update hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare centers.
• The scheme aids cooperative organizations to upgrade their facilities and use new technology.
• The scheme helps cooperative healthcare organizations work better with government healthcare programs.
• The scheme helps cooperative organizations start and run healthcare facilities.
• The scheme helps healthcare professionals in cooperative organizations get training. This enables them to give better care.
• The scheme helps improve healthcare in rural areas, where people often don't have easy access to care.
• The scheme encourages cooperative healthcare organizations to do research and develop new ways of providing care.
• The scheme helps people stay healthy. It promotes things like exercise and eating healthy food.

Learn about Van Dhan Yojana here.

About NCDC

National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) is an autonomous statutory corporation formed under the statute of the Government of India in 1963. NCDC works under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, with its 18 regional offices and head office stationed in New Delhi.

NCDC is among the most trusted financial institutions for cooperatives and plays an unparalleled role in promoting the cooperatives by financing various programmes which would provide different products and services to the public.

Since its inception, NCDC has financed around Rs1.60 Lakh Crore to the cooperatives for various programmes. Apart from this, NCDC has also launched other schemes like Yuva Sahakar, Sahakar Mitra Scheme, and Sahakar Pragya Initiative.

Click here to learn about CPGRAMS.

Way Forward

The Scheme targets the right areas at the right time. The preparedness of today provides a safer future, and healthcare, the core part of human development, has a multiplier effect on various aspects of human life, such as the economy, science, technology, innovation, etc. The proper implementation of the scheme and supervision of cooperatives concerning NCDC fund utilisation need to be considered. The Ayushman Sahakar scheme promises a better healthcare system for the country.

Download the PDF on Ayushman Sahakar Scheme notes for UPSC Exam here.

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