This is how your parents can enrol for Ayushman scheme

This is how your parents can enrol for Ayushman scheme 

TOI Explains 

Registration Can Be Done Via Website Or App And Also At Empanelled Hospitals

DurgeshNandan.Jha@timesofindia.com 31.10.2024

Those aged 70 years and above can now benefit from the expansion of the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) regardless of income, a major shift in the govt policy. Earlier, only poor and vulnerable families and a few specific categories of workers, like ASHA staff, were eligible for the scheme that offers health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary-care hospitalisation. 

How can 70+ people join the scheme? 

Anyone aged 70 years or above can apply for the Ayushman Bharat Senior Citizen Scheme on the website, www.beneficiary.nha. gov.in, or by using the Ayushman App (available for Android on the Google Play Store). Beneficiaries simply need to verify their identity and eligibility through Aadhaar e-KYC. Aadhaar serves as the primary document for confirming both the beneficiary’s age and state of residence and is the only document required to complete the registration process. 

Can family members register elderly people who are unable to access apps or websites? Yes. Family members can register the eligible beneficiary through beneficiary login option on the mobile app and website. All they must do is to enter their mobile number and put in the OTP that’s generated to initiate the enrolment process. One can also visit the nearest empanelled hospital and get themselves enrolled. 

Does AB PM-JAY address issues that have been experienced with CGHS, like difficulty in finding a bed? 

AB PM-JAY is a completely cashless scheme, and govt sources said payments are made to hospitals against the treatment provided to eligible beneficiaries. Empanelled hospitals are mandated to offer cashless treatment to beneficiaries. One can lodge grievances on the AB PM-JAY website or through the national call centre ‘14555’, mail, letter, fax etc. Any complaint regarding denial of treatment by an empaneled hospital is to be seen as an SOS grievance and a ‘turn around time’ of 6 hours has been set for resolving it. 

Do beneficiaries aged over 70 who belong to families already covered under AB PM-JAY need to enrol again? 

Such beneficiaries will have to re-initiate their Aadhaar based e-KYC via the website or mobile app to be registered as a beneficiary under the senior citizen scheme. 

How to check the list of hospitals that are included in the scheme? Is it correct that most big corporate  hospitals are yet to join? 

The list of empanelled hospitals for Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme is available on the website www.dashboard.pmjay.gov.in. As of Sept 30, approximately 30,000 hospitals across the country are empanelled to provide benefits under the scheme, which is run overall by the National Health Authority. The list includes 190 leading corporate hospitals like Centre For Sight (Delhi), Medanta-The Medicity (Gurugram), Metro Hospital and Heart Institute (Noida), Fortis Escorts Hospital (Jaipur), Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital & Heart Institute (Ghaziabad), etc. Public health and hospitals being a state subject under the Indian Constitution, state health agencies (SHAs) are mandated to empanel hospitals under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY. 

How to seek treatment under the scheme? What if the cost exceeds Rs 5 lakh?

Beneficiaries can visit any empanelled hospital, present either their Ayushman card or their PMJAY ID to receive treatment. Before visiting, the beneficiary should confirm that the hospital is empanelled to treat the specific condition for which they require assistance. Nearly all treatments covered by the scheme cost below Rs 2 lakh and, so, the Rs 5 lakh cover is sufficient to meet beneficiaries’ healthcare needs, govt sources said. Further, under the umbrella scheme of Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN), financial assistance up to Rs 15 lakh is provided to patients from poor families — who are eligible for PM-JAY — for availing those treatments that are not covered under PM-JAY. Hence, AB PM-JAY along with other central govt schemes can take care of hospitalisation needs of eligible beneficiaries. 

Delhi and West Bengal haven’t joined AB PM-JAY. Can elderly people in these two states join the scheme on their own? 

No. With these states not implementing the scheme, elderly citizens cannot join or receive the benefits of AB PM-JAY. 

Union minister lands at wrong lounge at airport, probe ordered

Union minister lands at wrong lounge at airport, probe ordered

Oppili.P@timesofindia.com 31.10.2024

Chennai : An inquiry has been ordered after Union minister for housing and urban affairs Manohar Lal landed at an old and unused lounge during his recent visit to Chennai, allegedly due to a lack of proper communication among officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI). A few days ago, a senior AAI official said, the minister flew down to Chennai for a meeting with state govt authorities. When he came out of the aircraft at the city air port, a vehicle from the AAI meant for transporting VVIPs was promptly sent to pick him up at the foot of the aircraft. The vehicle, however, drove straight to the old VIP lounge, which was not in use and dropped off the minister, while his guests including AAI officials, friends and cadres of the state BJP unit waited in the new VIP lounge to receive him. 

The minister, finding no one available at the lounge, then called his guests who informed him that they were indeed waiting in the lounge. The minister then called the airport director and other officials in charge of receiving and sending off VVIPs at the airport and a team was immediately sent to the old lounge. When the team of officials arrived, it was realized that the minister had been driven to the wrong lounge and that it was probably due to a lack of communication among the AAI officials concerned. The incident has sent shock waves among the AAI authorities and the Chennai airport director has ordered a thorough inquiry, the senior AAI official added.

Man, 42, who ran clinic without MBBS degree held

Man, 42, who ran clinic without MBBS degree held 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 31.10.2024 

Chennai : A 42-year-old man was arrested by the Ambattur police for running a clinic without an MBBS degree. The man ran the clinic with a registration number belonging to another doctor. According to police, J Guganathan of Kolathur ran Sri Balaji Clinic in Ambattur without being a doctor. Based on a complaint, Dr M A Elangovan, the joint director of medical and rural health services, conducted a raid at the clinic and found that Guganathan had not completed his MBBS degree.

Inquiries revealed that he had joined Stanley Medical College in 2004 but discontinued the course after three years. Police said Guganathan used a fake registration number belonging to another doctor and ran the clinic, where he treatd patients for a fee. He was remanded in judicial custody on Wednesday.

One held with fake NEET scorecard

One held with fake NEET scorecard 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 31.10.2024 

Chennai : A Class XII student and his unsuspecting parents found themselves in hot water after presenting a forged NEET scorecard that boasted of an impressive 698 marks out of 720. The student’s actual score was only 129. Their visit to the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University office on Tuesday was meant to secure admission to Madras Medical College (MMC), but it quickly turned into an inquiry at Kilpauk police station. 

According to police, the student had scored 129 in this year's test. Frustrated by his low scores, he devised a plan to create fake marksheets. He sought help from two of his friends and crafted a scorecard that inflated his marks to 698 out of 720. Police said the parents were unaware of their son's scheme. Armed with the fraudulent scorecard, the student and his parents approached the university office to inquire about his admission status. University officials scrutinized the document and discovered it was forged. They alerted police. Acting on a complaint filed by Dr Karamath, deputy director of medical education (DDME), Kilpauk police registered a case and arrested the aspiring medical student. A hunt is now underway for his two aides, one of whom is employed at a photocopy centre in Adya

Mad rush: Roads out of city gridlocked for 100 km

Mad rush: Roads out of city gridlocked for 100 km 

Traffic Snarl Extends Till Ulundurpet 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK  31.10.2024 

Chennai : A large number of people deciding to spend Diwali in their hometowns resulted in back-breaking traffic logjams on roads leading out of the city on Wednesday. Traffic congestion stretched far beyond Perungalathur, Vandalur and Chengalpet, extending upto 100 km till Tindivanam. Vehicles crawled for another 100 km toward Ulundurpet, stuck in queues behind buses and trucks. South-bound cars took five hours to cross this stretch on Tuesday. Over one lakh vehicles passed through the Paranur toll plaza in the last 36 hours, with even more expected on Wednesday night. 

Many travellers started their journey as early as 5 am on Wednesday in hopes of avoiding the crowd, but the bottleneck, which began at Perungalathur on Tuesday night, continued with no end in sight. After the state govt announced that schools would have half-day sessions on Wednesday, many parents opted to leave earlier than planned, adding to the traffic volume. Despite traffic police urging private cars to avoid the GST road and use Old Mahabalipuram Road to reach Chengalpet, many drivers ignored the advice, worsening the chaos along the Kilambakkam stretch.

Although the govt announced highway patrols every ten kilometres, motorists said patrols were minimal after Chengalpet. “Bikers cutting across lanes on national highways, designed for high-speed travel, added to the chaos,” said Arulmurugan, who spent nine hours driving to Madurai. 

Samay Singh Meena, DCP (traffic) in Tambaram, said 440 police officers were deployed to regulate traffic at Kilambakkam and Tambaram, and diversions were introduced at Maduravoyal and Poonamallee from Wednesday afternoon. “Heavy vehicles were restricted from using GST Road,” he added. Over 4.5 lakh passengers departed from Kilambakkam bus terminus in the last three days. Chennai Egmore and Central railway stations were packed too as Southern Railway operated three unreserved special trains to Trichy and Coimbatore to handle the last-minute rush.

Pensioners can submit digital life certificate at home through postal staff from Nov. 1

Pensioners can submit digital life certificate at home through postal staff from Nov. 1

The Hindu Bureau

MADURAI 31.10.2024

Pensioners of the Central and the State governments, Armed Forces, Employees Provident Fund and other pensioners who were required to submit life certificate from November 1 can do so from their home through the local postal employees.

To avoid the hassle of submitting life certificate in person, the India Post Payments Bank under the Postal Department has made arrangements for the postal employees to collect digital life certificate (Jeevan Pramaan) using biometric or FACE RD application methods directly from the home of the pensioners for a service charge of ₹70 to be paid to the postal employee.

The pensioners who wish to avail themselves of this service can contact the nearest post office or the local postal employee. They can also register the request through the website: https://ccc.cept.gov.in/ServiceRequest/request.aspx or by downloading the ‘Postinfo application’. For further details, people can contact 0452 2534499.

Special camps

Special camps will be organised in all the post offices from November 1 to provide this service and pensioners can submit their Aadhaar number, mobile phone number, PPO number and pension account details to the postal employee to submit their digital life certificate, according to a press release issued by the Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Madurai Division on Wednesday.

Vijay cannot be ignored

Vijay cannot be ignored

His speech has drawn admiration and criticism in equal measure

T. Ramakrishnan

ramakrishnan.t@thehindu.co.in  31.10.2024

state of play

The response that Tamil film actor Vijay received for his speech at the inaugural State-level conference of his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), in Vikravandi on October 27 was mostly on expected lines. Mr. Vijay’s indirect attack on the ruling DMK government in Tamil Nadu and the BJP-led Central government and his statement on power sharing have become talking points among the political parties of the State. While the DMK, a couple of its allies, and the BJP did not take his speech kindly, the AIADMK, the principal Opposition party, viewed it favourably in view of the perception that Mr. Vijay did not target it. If reactions on social media are any indication, the TVK leader’s words created an impact on the people. Some admired the speech, while others criticised him for being vague on many serious issues.

As he laid down the broad contours of his party’s policies and action plans in the already cluttered political landscape of Tamil Nadu, it became clear that Mr. Vijay was adopting the general line of thinking seen in his films. By and large, his films belong to the ‘masala movie’ genre. They offer nothing different either in terms of plot or narration from other movies in the same genre. In many of his films, the protagonist, played by Mr. Vijay, represents subaltern communities or identifies with them.

The manner in which he spoke at Vikravandi, the contents of his speech, and the way the conference was organised indicated that the actor may want to follow a similar formula in politics too: nothing radically new; and in support of social justice.

He did differ from other politicians in some aspects, however. He spoke simple and direct Tamil and liberally used English words and punchlines. He did not wear a crisp, white dhoti, the uniform of politicians in the State, but instead chose trousers and a shirt. The conference began with some of the State’s traditional dance forms — Paraiyattam, Mayilattam, Devarattam, and Vallikummi. He also announced that he would be open not only to forming an alliance with other parties, but also giving a share in power in the event of victory in the 2026 Assembly polls.

Even though the film star-turned-politician did not name the DMK and the BJP in his attack, the leaders of the two parties were quick to find fault with him. Alluding to Mr. Vijay’s observation that the TVK was neither the “A team” nor the “B team” of any other party, the State Law Minister, S. Regupathy, labelled the latest entrant the “C team” of the BJP, while Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and former State president of the BJP, L. Murugan, contended that Mr. Vijay’s speech lacked clarity. To substantiate his point, he referred to the TVK leader calling Dravidam and Tamil nationalism as “two eyes” and said the two concepts were contradictory to each other.

The DMK’s allies were not attracted by Mr. Vijay’s offer of power sharing. The principal secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Durai Vaiko, said it would create confusion. The leader of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Thol Thirumavalavan, who defended the demand for a share in power not too long ago, said Mr. Vijay’s “offer” was an attempt to pre-empt the AIADMK. The Congress’s State unit chief, K. Selvaperunthagai, said his party would “wait and watch” even as he welcomed Mr. Vijay’s position.

The AIADMK was the only major party which seemed to support Mr. Vijay. Referring to the actor’s observation that certain parties took an “anti-fascism” position but had “underground dealings” with the same forces, the general secretary of the AIADMK, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, said others too were echoing what his party had been saying all along — that the DMK and the BJP shared a “tacit understanding.” He did not want to get drawn into any debate on the issue of power sharing and simply said, “Each party has its own policy...It would not be proper for me to comment on whether his [Mr. Vijay’s] stand is right or wrong.” When asked whether he would agree to a proposal of power sharing where he would be Chief Minister and the TVK leader, the Deputy Chief Minister, in the event of a victory in the elections, the AIADMK leader said that his party was functioning according to the policies set by its previous leaders.

While debates continue on how long the TVK leader will remain in the field, the reactions to his speech have made one thing clear: no one is ignoring Mr. Vijay.