Ex-servicemen’s medicare gets Rs.141 crore boost
May 26th, 2010 - 6:13 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, May 26 (IANS) In a major effort to boost the quality of medicare provided to India’s 33 lakh ex-servicemen and their dependents, the cabinet Wednesday approved the creation of 199 additional polyclinics at a cost of Rs.141 crore ($30 million), to take their total number to 426.
Also to be created as part of this effort are 17 mobile military medical facilities and 15 new regional centres, while the central organisation of the employees contributory health scheme (ECHS) will be revamped.
Of the Rs.141 crore, Rs.118.52 crore will go towards cost of land, construction and medical equipment. Purchase of furniture and IT hardware will account for Rs.22.25 crore, while the annual recurring expenditure on the new facilities will be Rs.43 crore.
“The expanded network envisages 426 polyclinics in 343 districts of the country which will benefit ex-servicemen residing in remote and far flung areas,” an official statement issued after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.
“At present, ex-servicemen residing in remote areas where their population is less than 2500 face a lot of inconvenience in reaching the polyclinics due to their location varying from 200 to 300 km from their place of residence. The expansion of ECHS will provide easy access to health facilities for such ex-servicemen and their dependents,” the statement.
The cabinet also approved the extension of the ECHS to Nepal Domiciled Gorkha (NDG) ex-servicemen and their dependents, who number 100,000, at an annual cost of Rs.85 crore.
Extending the scheme to NDG ex-servicemen “will meet a long outstanding need of their health care”, the statement said.
- Health scheme approved for Nepal-domiciled Gorkhas - Jan 04, 2012
- Govt. approves extension of ECHS facilities to Nepal Domiciled Gorkhas - May 27, 2010
- Govt. approves setting up of 199 additional new polyclinics - May 27, 2010
- Army chief inaugurates ex-servicemen's polyclinic - Jun 15, 2010
- Government committed to welfare of armed forces: Antony - Aug 14, 2011
- 'Serious fraud probe' into ex-servicemen job scam - Sep 25, 2011
- Government accepts recommendations on ex-servicemen's pension - Mar 10, 2010
- Watch real life stories of ex-servicemen on Doordarshan - Jul 05, 2010
- President forgoes post-retirement accommodation in Pune (Lead) - Apr 27, 2012
- Haryana reduces stamp duty for defence personnel - Jul 21, 2010
- Govt. approves transfer of Defence land to KVS in J-K, Punjab, Manipur - Aug 26, 2010
- Cabinet approves slum development in 250 cities - Jun 02, 2011
- Govt. implements committee recommendations on ex-soldiers pension - Mar 10, 2010
- Revamped health insurance scheme launched - Jan 11, 2012
- President forgoes post-retirement accommodation in Pune - Apr 27, 2012
Tags: 30 million, cabinet meeting, central organisation, dependents, easy access, echs, health facilities, inconvenience, lakh, land construction, manmohan, manmohan singh, medical equipment, medicare, military medical facilities, New Delhi, polyclinics, prime minister manmohan, prime minister manmohan singh, regional centres