The Ayushman Sahakar Scheme, also known as the Ayushman Sahakar Yojana, is administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The NCDC (National Cooperative Development Corporation) initiated the Ayushman Sahakar scheme to assist cooperatives in playing a vital role in establishing healthcare infrastructure in India.
About NCDC
- The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) was founded as a statutory Corporation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare by an Act of Parliament in 1963.
- Since 1963, NCDC has made loans to cooperatives totalling around Rs.1.60 lakh billion.
- NCDC’s primary mission is to develop, promote, and finance programmes for product manufacturing, processing, marketing, storage, export and import, and consumer goods supply.
- Aside from the Ayushman Sahakar Scheme, NCDC has introduced two more significant schemes:
- Scheme of Sahakar Mitra
- Initiative Yuva Sahakar Sahakar Pragya
Features
- The National Cooperative Development Corporation will make the Ayushman Sahakar Fund available, and any cooperative society with adequate provisions to perform healthcare-related activities would be eligible to access the NCDC fund.
- Term loans of Rs.10,000 crore would be made available to potential cooperatives.
- The main focus will be on the establishment and refurbishment of hospitals, the modernization, extension, and repair of healthcare institutes, and the development of healthcare and education infrastructure.
- Working capital and margin money must also be provided to cooperatives in order to meet the requirements.
- The Ayushman Sahakar scheme would also provide a 1% interest subsidy to women-majority cooperatives.
Significance
- Currently, there are 52 cooperative-run hospitals across the country with a total bed capacity of 5000. This number can be enhanced after the introduction of Ayushman Sahakar, which will improve healthcare services.
- This system is also consistent with the 2017 National Health Policy.
- The Ayushman Sahakar plan fund would also help cooperative hospitals pursue medical/AYUSH education.
- Ayushman Sahakar and the National Digital Health Mission work in tandem to bring about change in rural areas.
- NCDC funds will be distributed either through state governments/universities or directly to qualified cooperatives.
- Ayushman Sahakar primarily addresses the establishment, modernisation, expansion, maintenance, and rebuilding of hospital and healthcare infrastructure, as well as educational infrastructure, which includes:
- Hospitals and/or Medical Colleges that provide UG and/or PG programmes
- Yoga and wellness centres, Ayurveda, Allopathy, Homeopathy, and other traditional medicine clinics
- Services for the elderly, people with disabilities, and the mentally impaired
- Emergency Medical Services and Mobile Clinics
- Blood banks and drug testing laboratories
- Services for Maternal and Child Health; Services for Reproductive and Child Health
- Digital health information and communication technology, health insurance approved by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)
- Any additional associated centres or services that NCDC deems appropriate for assistance, and more
Objectives
The following are some of the core goals of the Ayushman Sahakar Scheme.
- To assist cooperative societies in providing comprehensive and economical healthcare through healthcare centres, hospitals, and educational facilities.
- Cooperative societies can be used to promote AYUSH facilities.
- To assist various cooperatives in meeting some of the National Health Policy objectives.
- To assist cooperatives in their participation in the National Digital Health Mission.
Benefits
The following are the advantages of the Ayushman Sahakar Scheme:
- The most obvious advantage is that villagers will have access to numerous facilities such as hospices and medical colleges.
- Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of establishing these facilities.