The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare recently launched a new scheme, Ayushman Sahakar, aimed at helping cooperatives in the establishment of healthcare infrastructure across the country. This is an initiative spearheaded by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) – an organization established under an Act of Parliament in 1963 for the promotion and development of cooperatives.
About NCDC and its recent initiatives
The NCDC functions under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and has been instrumental in bolstering the cooperative sector. Recent initiatives by the NCDC include Sahakar Cooptube – an NCDC Channel targeted towards the youth, and Sahakar Mitra – an internship programme.
Features of Ayushman Sahakar
Under the Ayushman Sahakar scheme, NCDC will extend term loans to cooperatives amounting to Rs.10,000 crore in the coming years. Any Cooperative Society which has suitable provisions in its byelaws for undertaking healthcare activities would be eligible for accessing the NCDC fund. This scheme encompasses the establishment, modernization, expansion, repair, and renovation of hospital and healthcare infrastructure, as well as educational facilities.
The assistance from NCDC will flow either through the State Governments/UT Administrations or directly to the eligible cooperatives. The scheme also provides working capital and margin money to meet operational requirements. Moreover, the scheme offers an interest subvention of 1% to cooperatives with a majority women membership.
The importance of Ayushman Sahakar
This scheme has been designed with a comprehensive approach that includes hospitals, healthcare, medical education, nursing education, paramedical education, health insurance, and holistic health systems such as AYUSH. Given the need highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic for increased health facilities, this scheme is timely.
Currently, there are approximately 52 hospitals across the country run by cooperatives. These facilities have a combined bed strength of more than 5,000. Ayushman Sahakar will boost these numbers, enhancing the provision of healthcare services by cooperatives.
Alignment with National Health Policy, 2017
Ayushman Sahakar aligns with the focus of the National Health Policy, 2017, which covers all dimensions of health systems – investments in health, organization of healthcare services, access to technologies, development of human resources, and encouragement of medical pluralism.
Potential Impact on Rural Healthcare
The scheme is poised to bring significant transformation to rural areas due to the strong presence of cooperatives in these regions. It is expected that this initiative will revolutionize the way healthcare delivery takes place in rural India, making it more accessible and affordable.
Understanding Cooperatives
As per the International Labour Organisation, a cooperative is an independent association of individuals who voluntarily unite to cater to their collective economic, social, and cultural needs through a jointly owned, democratically controlled enterprise.
Constitutional Provisions for Cooperatives in India
The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2011 added a new Part IXB concerning cooperatives functioning in India. As per this Amendment, the word “cooperatives” was included in Article 19(1)(c) under Part III of the Constitution, thereby conferring the status of fundamental right to form cooperatives. Furthermore, a new Article 43B regarding the “promotion of cooperative societies” was included in the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV).