The NDA Government, blamed for not doing enough to prevent the dilution of the SC/ST Act by the Supreme Court, may use Ambedkar Jayanti, which falls on April 14, to attempt an image makeover with Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching a slew of schemes meant for the poorest districts in the country on the birth anniversary of the chief architect of India Constitution.

Modi would head to Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh, the State which incidentally would go to the polls later this year, to launch a scheme for the transformation of what the Government calls ‘Aspirational Districts’.

Bijapur is among 115 poorest districts in the country which have been selected on the basis of their poor indicators in the field of education, health, basic infrastructure and financial inclusion.

According to NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Bijapur was among those districts that have shown notable improvement in percentage change in key indicators since the programme was first announced in January this year. “Bijapur is second on a list of the aspirational districts which have shown maximum improvement potential in a short span of three months, after Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh,” Kant said.

Moreover, it lies in one of the most remote terrains, Naxal-infested and tribals constitute 81 per cent of its population. But it has a very dynamic district collector who has been able to increase the number of doctors working in district government hospitals from just 1 to 28 in no time, he said.

In January this year, Niti Aayog had identified 115 aspirational districts which occupy the bottom of the list of the districts in the country. Even though nearly 20 per cent of the population in the country live in these districts, they continue to be backward in social and economical indicators.

In Bijapur, the Prime Minister would also launch the first of 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres, planned under the recently launched Ayushman Bharat, at Jangla village in the district. “This would be a historic leap in creating a robust primary healthcare foundation reaching the very doorsteps of communities,” said Niti Aayog member Vinod K Paul.

According to Paul, these centres are planned as one that provide a comprehensive primary healthcare system and would not just treat common diseases, but would also provide initial screening facilities for non-communicable diseases and cancers of oral cavity, cervix and breast as well as services like mental health, geriatric and palliative healthcare.

In the current financial year, the government plans to set up 11,000 such facilities in different parts of the country. While some of them will be built by upgrading the existing primary healthcare centres and sub-centres, others would be newly constructed.

The idea is to ensure that no one – whether the rich or the poor -- living in the country need to travel more than 30 minutes to avail themselves of the primate healthcare facilities, once the system is completely operational. Besides, there is also a provision to upgrade the skills of the existing staff through bridge course and periodic trainings, Paul said.

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