Modi's major healthcare scheme from Sep 25

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said a major healthcare initiative to give medical insurance cover to 50 crore Indians will roll out from September 25 -- the 102nd birth anniversary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Deendayal Upadhyay.

"Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan will be launched on September 25 to ensure that the poor get access to good quality and affordable healthcare. The initiative of the government will have a positive impact on 50 crore Indians," Modi said in his last Independence Day speech before the general elections next year.

The scheme is billed as the world's largest government-funded healthcare programme. Also called "Modicare", it aims at providing medical insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10 crore poor families in the country.

While most states already provide a cover of up to Rs 2 lakh to families necessarily not below the poverty line, the new scheme subsumes these programmes into the national initiative.