New Delhi, Jul 28 (PTI) The Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana has made a conscious effort to put women at the centre of the national conversation on health which has ensured their equal participation in it, the government informed Lok Sabha on Friday.

In a written reply to a question, Union Minister of State for Health S P Singh Baghel said women account for approximately 49 per cent of Ayushman card recipients.

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Further, 141 health benefit packages under the health insurance scheme are exclusively earmarked for women, he said.

Correspondingly, utilisation of scheme services by women stands at approximately 48 per cent of the total authorised hospital admissions, he said.

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A total of 4.78 crore and 9.22 crore Ayushman cards were created during 2019-20 and 2022-23, respectively, Baghel said in reply to a separate question. He added the number of Ayushman cards has significantly increased over the last years.

Under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the government provides a health insurance of Rs 5 lakh per family per year.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)