(a) whether the Government has created/proposed any fund to provide free
medical facility to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the criteria fixed in this regard for fund allocation to States alongwith the
quantum of funds allocated to each State during the last year and the current year?
THE MINISTER OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE(SHRI GHULAM NABI AZAD)
(a) to (c): The Government of India has created Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) in 1997 to
provide financial assistance to the patients, living below poverty line(BPL), who are suffering
from major life threatening diseases, to receive medical treatment at any of the super
specialty hospitals / institutes or other Govt. hospitals. The financial assistance to such
patients is released in the form of ‘one-time grant’ to the Medical Superintendent of the
hospital in which the treatment is being received.
Under the scheme of Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi, the Central Govt. also provides Grant-in-Aid to the
States / Union Territories with legislature for the State Illness Assistance Funds set up by
them to the extent of 50 % of their contribution to the State Funds.
The contribution of the Central Govt. to the State Fund is subject to a maximum of Rs.5.00
crore to States with large number and percentage of population below the poverty line and
maximum of Rs.2 crore to other States & UTs with legislatures, whichever is less in a year
subject to overall availability of resources.
The Illness Assistance Fund at the State/UT level releases financial assistance to patients
living in their respective States/UTs upto Rs. 1.5 lakh in an individual case and forward
all such cases to RAN, where the quantum of financial assistance is likely to exceed Rs. 1.5
lakh.
The Grant-in-Aid is provided to the State Govts from time to time upon fulfilment of
certain conditions, viz., submission of Utilization Certificates; list of beneficiaries
indicating the illness and amount sanctioned in each case; Audit Report by the A.G. of the
State Govt.; etc.
The Grant-in-Aid released to the States during the last financial year and current financial
year so far,is given below :
Name of the State Amount released (Rs. in lakh)
2008-09 2009-10
Punjab 4.75 -
Kerala 200.00 -
Uttar Pradesh 250.00 -
Sikkim 47.50 -
Goa 30.00 -
West Bengal - 215.56
Chhatisgarh - 187.50
Haryana - 25.00