01-Feb-18, BBC News
India has announced an ambitious health insurance scheme, which is designed to be a safety net for millions of people who struggle to afford medical care.
%20BBC%20News.jpg "India unveils worlds largest public healthcare scheme (c) BBC News")
Image: BBC News
It's thought to be one of the largest such schemes in the world, and is likely to be popular with rural voters. India presently spends a little over 1% of its GDP on public healthcare, one of the lowest in the world.
The flagship health insurance scheme would cover more than 100 million poor families and provide INR500,000 (USD7,825) in medical coverage for each family annually.
"This will be the world's largest government-funded healthcare programme," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told parliament.