The Union Health Ministry on Monday said the National Health Authority (NHA) is working to integrate the database of Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 beneficiaries with the National Food Security Act (NFSA) portal so that beneficiaries can seek information regarding their entitlements under the AB PM-JAY using their ration card number.
The NHA is mandated with the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri–Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). The scheme provides health assurance of up to ₹5 Lakhs per family per year, for secondary and tertiary care-related hospitalizations.
The Ministry added that the NHA is also working on a proposal to use Fair Price Shops or ration shops for providing information related to the scheme and entitlement under the scheme to eligible beneficiaries.
“This will provide an additional avenue to beneficiaries along with the existing Common Service Center, UTI-ITSL etc., for card creation. This will make the beneficiary identification process very convenient,” said the Ministry.
Aadhar based
It added that the existing beneficiary data available with various government welfare schemes can be meaningfully utilized only if a common identifier is available. “Aadhaar being a common identity across the majority of government databases will enable this integration. Further, Aadhaar also ensures certainty regarding beneficiary identification through e-KYC. e-KYC enables paperless delivery of services in a targeted manner,” said the Ministry.
The NHA has collaborated with various ministries implementing welfare schemes to strengthen the different aspects of scheme implementation including beneficiary awareness campaigns, beneficiary database (SECC 2011) enrichment etc. the release said.
The beneficiary database enrichment under ABPM-JAY would mean adding additional parameters to the database for making searching easier. The majority of ABPM-JAY beneficiaries from SECC 2011 are also eligible for benefits under National Food Security Portal.
