Jan Dhan Yojana To Ayushman Bharat: 5 Schemes That Marked PM Modi's 12 Years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become India's longest continuously serving PM. The 12 years long tenure comes with many government schemes that completely changed the way Indians lived.

From cleanliness in sanitation to clean cooking fuel, from free health insurance to heavily subsidised pucca houses, crores of Indians have benefitted from such schemes. Opening crores of bank accounts alone benefitted many in receiving direct benefit transfers. 

Five government schemes rolled out during PM Modi government that transformed the country are Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), PM Awas Yojana (PMAY), Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) and Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY).

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana

The PMJDY was launched by PM Modi on August 28, 2014. It was the largest financial inclusion initiative in the world. PMJDY provides one basic bank account for every unbanked adult. The accounts opened under this scheme provide a free of cost RuPay Debit card with in-built accident insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh and an overdraft of up to Rs 10,000 to cover exigencies. 

At present, more than 58.3 crore beneficiaries have opened accounts so far, according to the PMJDY dashboard. Also, there is Rs 3 lakh crore balance in such beneficiary accounts. To make the process seamless, there are also 13.55 lakh bank mitras delivering branchless banking services.

Swachh Bharat Mission 

The mission was launched on October 2, 2014 as a national movement. The vision was a Clean India October 2, 2019. The mission also focussed on making Indian villages Open Defecation Free (ODF). At present, only in Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen mission, over 12 crore toilets are built and 753 districts are declared ODF+, which means a district which sustains its Open Defecation Free status, ensures solid and liquid waste management and is visually clean.  

More than 5.34 lakh villages now have an arrangement of Solid Waste Management and 5.54 lakh have arrangement of Liquid Waste Management, according to the SBM dashboard. The mission saw a sharp reduction in open defecation, public health gains and behavioural changes.

PM Awas Yojana

The PMAY scheme, launched in 2015, aimed at affordable housing for urban and rural poor. Under the scheme more than five crore houses are sanctioned and over four crore houses are  completed, according to the PMAY-G and PMAY-U dashboards.

The scheme provided improved living conditions, sanitation, and asset ownership, along with giving a significant push to the construction sector and jobs.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

The PMUY was launched by PM Modi on May 1, 2016  and aimed to provide five crore LPG connections to poor families. At present, the move saw a remarkable shift from biomass to clean cooking fuel, improved health outcomes, especially for women and more than 10 crore LPG connections have been distributed, according to the PMUY 2.0 dashboard. The no. of subsidised cylinders provided every year, however, have been gradually decreased to four. The scheme helped women save two to three hours daily as collecting fuel is not needed.

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri - Jan Arogya Yojana

The PM-JAY was launched on September 23, 2018 to provide free health care to citizens. It was the world's largest government funded healthcare programme targeting more than 50 crore beneficiaries.

At present, more than 44 crore Ayushman cards are created and over 10 crore authorised hospital admissions have taken place. The scheme also has 36,253 empanelled hospitals, according to the PMJAY dashboard

There are many other reforms such as the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), Saubhagya Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) and PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) that have benefitted several people across India and are still reaching last miles.