Bhubaneswar, Mar 21 (PTI) The Odisha government has approved a budget outlay of Rs 27,019.25 crore for implementation of the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and the state-sponsored Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana for a period of five years – 2025-26 to 2029-30.

The state cabinet approved a proposal in this regard during its meeting held on Thursday evening, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi informed the state assembly on Friday.

The cabinet has approved a total of 10 proposals from seven departments, including the health insurance scheme.

The Odisha government, in January, had signed an MoU with the National Health Authority (NHA) to implement AB-PMJAY in convergence with the state's GJAY.

Under the new integrated scheme, 3.46 crore people of about 1.03 crore families will get Rs 5 lakh per family per year, and female members will get an additional cashless treatment benefit of Rs 5 lakh, Majhi said.

In addition, the Centre's ‘Ayushman Vayo-Vandana Yojana’ will also be implemented in Odisha for all persons aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their economic status. This will enable them to get free treatment worth Rs 5 lakh per family per year, he said.

The beneficiaries will get free treatment in 29,000 registered private and government hospitals across the country. Earlier, the facility was available in only 900 hospitals, the CM said.

The cabinet also approved the Odisha State Road Policy 2025, designed for effective implementation and monitoring of the road network, he said.

The chief minister said the policy will provide a framework for a quality road network, which will ensure a well-organised system for proper development of roads.

The government has also decided to extend the validity of the One Time Settlement Scheme introduced by the Water Resources Department for collection of arrears of water tax of central and state PSUs, private, industrial, commercial and other establishments till May 31, 2025. PTI BBM RBT

Integrated health insurance scheme expands entitlements and hospital access, adding female-specific cashless benefit and senior coverage. Approval of a five-year budget to implement an integrated health insurance scheme merging the Centre's Ayushman Bharat program with the state Gopabandhu scheme, extending entitlements to beneficiary families, adding a cashless treatment benefit for female members, and enabling access through an expanded nationwide network of registered hospitals; concurrently, the state adopted a senior-specific entitlement under the Ayushman Vayo-Vandana framework, approved a state road policy for network quality and monitoring, and extended a One Time Settlement Scheme for water tax arrears recovery.