‘Is it a jumla?’ SP MP asks about PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat scheme

Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav asked the government on Wednesday whether the proposed Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana is some kind of “jumla”. He asked the question as the scheme’s budget allocation is more than the entire Health Ministry’s budget for this year.

He asked how will the government arrange Rs 65,560.98 crore when the entire Health Ministry’s budget allocation for 2020-21 is about Rs 65,000 crore.

On the opening day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan had said in Lok Sabha that the government is launching the Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana with an allocation of Rs 65,561 crore for proactively identifying gaps in dealing with challenges posed by COVID-19-like pandemics, epidemics and disasters in the future.

“An Expenditure Finance Memorandum of Rs 65,560.98 crore under Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana is under consideration. This includes investment in research, healthcare and public health infrastructure with particular focus on pandemic management,” the minister had said.

“When the ministry’s full budget is about Rs 65,000 crore, from where will you get the money for this scheme? Is this a kind of jumla (rhetoric)? You are talking about (spending) more than the budget allocation,” Yadav said on Wednesday.

Rajya Sabha MPs on Wednesday held an intense discussion on the steps taken by the central government to handle to coronavirus pandemic.