President Droupadi Murmu to visit MP’s Barwani on June 19

Bhubaneswar, April 11 (IANS) Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on Friday formally launched the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri – Jan Arogya Yojana in Odisha during a special event at the Bali Jatra Ground in Cuttack. The ‘Ayushman Vaya Vandana Yojana’ was also launched during the event.

Addressing the gathering, Nadda said, “Today is a historic day for Odisha as the AB-PMJAY, the world’s largest health coverage programme under which 62 crore people are currently being benefitted, will connect approximately 1.3 crore families, almost 3.52 crore people of Odisha.” He further informed that more than 8.19 crore people have availed services under the scheme, and Rs 1.26 lakh crore have been spent under the same to provide healthcare services to the people of the country.

The Health Minister highlighted that around 61 crore people are covered under the scheme now. He stated that earlier, more than 55 crore people were covered under the scheme. Then ASHAs, Anganwadi workers and their families, i.e. approximately 36 lakh people, were added to the scheme.

“In October last year, people over 70 years of age were covered under the scheme and now, with the implementation of Ayushman Vaya Vandana in Odisha, all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status, will be covered,” he stated. Nadda pointed out that the out-of-pocket expenditure has declined from 62 per cent to 38 per cent today as a result of the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

He also highlighted that under the 100-day TB Intensified Elimination Programme, Odisha proactively participated and identified 16,500 new cases. “Under PM ABHIM, Rs. 1,411 crore have been provided for strengthening the healthcare infrastructure of Odisha,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi highlighted the launch event as “another feather added to Odisha’s development story”. He stated, “From today onwards, beneficiaries of Odisha will get free healthcare facilities. Odia people residing outside the state will also get the benefit. They can avail the facility in the hospitals outside the state.”

Majhi informed that more than 4,000 doctors have been appointed under the current administration, and 5,000 more appointments are in process. Underlining the commitment of the state government towards strengthening the health infrastructure in the state, CM Majhi said that the Odisha government aims to establish medical colleges in all the districts of the state.

Union Health Minister Nadda on Friday arrived at Bhubaneswar Airport on a 2-day visit to the state. He is scheduled to officially inaugurate a training programme of BJP MLAs and MPs from Odisha on Saturday. The training camp, which will begin at Puri on Friday evening, will continue till April 13.

–IANS

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New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar inaugurated the first-ever training of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) along with Election Commissioner Dr Vivek Joshi at India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), New Delhi, on Wednesday.

Over 1 lakh BLOs with an average of one BLO per 10 polling stations will be trained in such training programmes over the next few years. These well-trained BLOs will form a corps of Assembly Level Master Trainers (ALMTs) to strengthen the entire network of BLOs nationwide, who are the first and most important interface between the 100 crore electors and the Commission.

This unique capacity-building programme will continue in phases, focusing first on poll-bound states. Currently, 109 BLOs from Bihar, West Bengal and Assam are participating in this 2-day residential training programme along with 24 EROs and 13 DEOs from Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.

The training is planned to familiarise the BLOs with their roles and responsibilities as per the RP Act 1950, the Registration of Elector Rules 1960 and instructions of the Commission issued from time to time, and to equip them with requirements of filling relevant forms for an error-free updation of electoral rolls. They will be familiarised with IT applications designed to support their work.

BLOs are State Government officials and are appointed by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) after the approval of the District Election Officers (DEOs). CEC Gyanesh Kumar, while acknowledging the critical role of EROs and BLOs in error free updation of electoral rolls, stressed that the state governments should nominate SDM level or equivalent officers as EROs, who then should appoint BLOs giving due consideration to their seniority and who are ordinary resident of the polling station under their charge.

The CEC underscored that as per Article 326 of the Constitution and Section 20 of the RP Act 1950, only citizens of India who are above 18 years of age and ordinarily resident in the constituency can be registered as electors. He recalled his directions to all CEOs, DEOs, EROs for holding all-party meetings at their respective levels and resolve issues relating to their area of jurisdiction, including correct updation of electoral rolls.

He also cautioned that any complaint against ERO or BLO will be strictly acted upon. He said that all BLOs should be courteous in their interactions with the electors during house-to-house verification for updation of electoral rolls. He said that the Commission was, is and will always continue to stand with nearly 100 crore electors.

–IANS

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Bhopal, March 17 (IANS) Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Kamal Nath on Monday said that incidents of “mob lynching” and attacks on police personnel have become common in the state, describing the situation as “anarchy” under the BJP government.

Kamal Nath made these remarks while attending the ongoing budget discussion in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

Responding to a series of recent violent incidents against police personnel, he said, “Madhya Pradesh has become the capital of lawlessness, and the entire country is watching this anarchy unfold. Corruption in the governance system has reached its peak, and this is the reality of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.”

The Congress leader also took to social media platform X, stating, “There has been constant tension between the police and lawyers in Indore since the Holi day incident. The people of the state want to know why the law-and-order situation has deteriorated so much. On one hand, lawyers with knowledge of the law and Constitution are taking to the streets due to a lack of justice, and on the other hand, the police are worried about their safety. My clear demand is that there should be an impartial investigation, and strict action should be taken against whoever is guilty.”

His comments come in the wake of the brutal killing of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Ramcharan Gautam in Madhya Pradesh’s Mauganj district. Gautam, who had gone to rescue a man allegedly kidnapped by a mob, was lynched on the spot. The kidnapped victim, Sunny Dube, was later found dead in a locked room.

Kamal Nath, who represents the Chhindwara assembly constituency, is participating in the state budget discussions. Although the Congress has staged multiple protests since the budget session began on March 10, Kamal Nath had not joined these demonstrations until now.

The budget session resumed on Monday after a break for the Holi festival.

–IANS

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