The Gujarat government has written to the Centre to include two of its health schemes in the latter's Ayushman Bharat initiative, state deputy chief minister Nitin Patel said on February 11.

He identified the two state government schemes as the 'Mukhyamantri Amrutam Yojana' and the 'Maa Vatsalya Yojana'. Under the Mukhyamantri Amrutam Yojana, financial help is given to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families for surgeries related to cardiovascular diseases, burns, polytrauma, cancer, renal and neo-natal ailments as well as neurosurgery.

As part of the Maa Vatsalya Yojana, medical treatment of up to Rs 3 lakh is provided free of cost at government-empanelled hospitals. "The Centre has assured the Gujarat government that it will seriously consider its plea for inclusion of these two health schemes under the Ayushman Bharat initiative," Patel said.

He added that financial help under both the state-run schemes will rise to Rs 5 lakh if the Centre accepts the Gujarat government's request. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had rolled out the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana-Ayushman Bharat in September last year.

The Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Scheme covers around 50 crore people providing coverage upto 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. The Gujarat deputy chief minister also said the first instalment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme will be given to 70 lakh farmers in the state by March 31 this year.

The Centre had announced the direct income support scheme on February 1 in its interim budget. Farmers holding cultivable land up to two hectare would receive Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments under the PM-KISAN plan. Patel, who is also state health minister, said modern equipment would be bought to equip civil hospitals in Vadodara, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar to treat cancer patients.