Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana in Odisha

Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana in Odisha

In Odisha, village is one of the prime places and agriculture is the backbone of the state. This scheme is focused towards the farmers of the state. One of the main things that has been noticed by the state is that the farmers are not adequately covered by any health insurance scheme and this is why the Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana (BKKY) scheme aims to cover them through health insurance so that their family is better equipped to fight the tougher times if they should arise at any point.

Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana

Features of this scheme

  • The scheme is completely funded by the state government of Orissa at present. The central government has not intervened in this scheme at all.
  • There are a good number of insurance companies that are currently associated with this scheme. Some of them are National Insurance, IFFCO-TOKIO, Reliance General Insurance, New India Insurance and many more. All the government owned general insurance companies are also contributing.
  • The packages that are being provided under this scheme are set by the government. Hence no matter which company you take the insurance from, the scheme details will be all set.
  • The farmers whose families are unstable and who suffer from ill health are considered under this scheme. Lots of applications have already been processed.

Implementation of the scheme

  • The scheme has already got implemented after its launch on Tuesday. The government officials have said that they plan to implement it in 30 districts across the state in two phases.
  • The program will also be made operational in three zones – North, Central and South. The entire state will be divided into these three zones and they will be made operational as per this scheme.
  • Not just that, about 6 lakh farmers will get the benefits once this scheme is fully implemented in the first two phases. The beneficiaries will include the entire family of the farmer.
  • It has been instructed to all the hospitals that they should have proper nursing homes, medical care and smooth communication to take care of those under this scheme. This is why they have been asked to have telephones and faxes.
  • Right now for better implementation of the scheme, cashless counters are being put forth at the hospitals. Pharmacy units and diagnostic units are being made up separately and they are being linked with the cashless counters.
  • If you are being treated in a private hospital then it is advised that the hospitals not only have all the equipments as mentioned but also operation theatres for surgical treatment.
  • Government has asked at least 10 beds to be reserved in the general wards of all hospitals for the BKKY patients. They also are in the process of employing qualified doctors and trained nurses to take care of the patients.
  • The private hospitals that get registered with the government for this scheme will have to register themselves with the Income tax department as well.
  • The private and government hospitals registered should also have proper IT infrastructure installed. Hardware and software should be installed and put in place.

What will the farmers get from this scheme?

To understand the benefits under this scheme, you will first have to understand how this scheme works.

Basically the scheme has been divided into two parts. Under first part (called stream 1), the 25 lakh beneficiaries will be covered and under another part of the scheme (stream 2) 35 lakh beneficiaries will be covered. So in total 60 lakh beneficiaries will be covered under the insurance under BKKY.

So you have to choose the right package for yourself. To choose them properly, know what they will give under each package –

  1. Stream 1: The package contains surgery, maternity and general treatment benefits – including care of the new born baby. Rs. 30,000 will be given to each family for one year to cover such costs.

    This package will include expenses for registration, general ward beds, doctors, surgeons, drugs, medicines, transportation costs, diagnosis, tests, X-rays, etc.

  2. Stream 2: The package includes facilities that are the same as stream 1. But they will also give you ICU beds if needed.

Benefits of the scheme

  • Basically it is an insurance scheme and the farmers will have to pay a premium to get the benefits. The beneficiaries will include the head of the family, the spouse and up to three dependents in the family.
  • However the farmers will have to pay only Rs. 30 per annum to get its benefits. This way they will be covered with an amount equivalent to Rs. 30,000.
  • This means that an insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh will be provided to 5 family members of the farmers under this scheme. As many as 50 lakh families are expected to register for this scheme.
  • The government has extended its helping hand towards 2.5 crore people in those 50 lakh families to get the benefits of this scheme. The officials have declared such in the recent meetings held at Tilotamadeipur village districts.
  • All the farmers will get the benefits of this scheme irrespective of whether they are below poverty line or above. Hence, there are no restrictions as in other schemes where you cannot apply.
  • Also the farmers are eligible to get medical care such as maternity services, surgery, medical help in the district hospitals, care of infants, etc. For this they will be eligible to get Rs. 30,000 per year. But the farmers are also given the opportunity to reimburse the costs up to Rs. 30,000 every year.
  • The farmers can also carry out cashless transaction while carrying out their medical necessities via this scheme for themselves and their families.
  • The government will also provide a transportation allowance to the families. This allowance will be Rs. 100 per hospitalization. However, you or your family can only take Rs. 1000 per year as a transportation cost under this scheme.
  • As per stream 2, there will be a financial benefit of Rs. 70,000 per year given to the families of the farmer. This amount too is reimbursable. However, you will be getting this amount for surgical purposes, maternity care, new born care, checkups and other hospital emergencies.

Am I eligible to receive the benefits of this scheme?

  • The head of the family is needed to be present during the registration process. However, if the head of the family cannot be present for some reason, the spouse will be considered the head of the family and he or she will have to complete the formalities.
  • The scheme is currently applicable only to the farmers and their families. Also if there are more than 5 people in the family then you can choose to insure any 5 people whom you deem fit because the scheme is applicable for 5 members of the family only.
  • Also if in any case, the head of the family is separated from the spouse or is not alive then the head of the family can add a dependent in place of the spouse.
  • Any beneficiary can add two or more members to receive the benefits of this policy alongside him.

Things that have been achieved yet

This scheme was implemented in the year 2013 and since then there have been a lot of changes that have been made. Here are a few of the improvements –

  • More than 5000 loan applications have already been sent to the bank as of April, 2016. In the last quarter of 2016 more and more number of farmers has participated in the scheme.
  • Already 9055 deep bore wells have been dug in the state and the state government is planning to dig more than 20,000 bore wells in the year 2016-17.
  • The government is also all set to give notice to the composite tenders because it wants to speed up the process of the electricity connection and bore well digging.
  • You may be thinking why these steps have been implemented. The reason is simple – it will help the farmers stay assured of irrigation facilities and they can grow crops without any worry in the Rabi and Kharif season.
  • 3, 88,000 is being spent to dig the bore wells for the farmers. Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 10,000 are being contributed by the BPL and minority individuals respectively to get the benefits of this scheme. The rest of the amount is being provided by the government itself.

According to the government officials, the scheme is being implemented as per the need of the farmers.

The oncoming of this scheme

The government had already been observing the day of Akshay Tritiya as Krushak Divas or Farmers’ day. It can be seen that the government was pretty keen on implementing new schemes for the farmers since there have been a lot of stress about how the state is mainly dependent upon farmers for its economy.

It has been noticed lately that farmers are at the receiving ends of major economic, social and of course health hazards and the main reasons for their deteriorating health is the lack of money. They suffer from severe stress because their livelihood is not well supported. This takes a toll on their health too. However talking about it from the health perspective, this could be easily solved with the health insurance solutions we have today. This is why the state government has come up with health insurance schemes like this.

It will also help achieve sustainable growth in the agricultural sector with this scheme.

The oncoming of this scheme

The government had already been observing the day of Akshay Tritiya as Krushak Divas or Farmers’ day. It can be seen that the government was pretty keen on implementing new schemes for the farmers since there have been a lot of stress about how the state is mainly dependent upon farmers for its economy.

It has been noticed lately that farmers are at the receiving ends of major economic, social and of course health hazards and the main reasons for their deteriorating health is the lack of money. They suffer from severe stress because their livelihood is not well supported. This takes a toll on their health too. However talking about it from the health perspective, this could be easily solved with the health insurance solutions we have today. This is why the state government has come up with health insurance schemes like this.

It will also help achieve sustainable growth in the agricultural sector with this scheme.

More things to note

The farmers will have to enroll via the insurance companies who will give them a smart card. That smart card will be a proof that you have successfully registered for this scheme. It will also help you carry out cashless transaction at the medical units. You have to renew this card annually from the insurance company.

Other Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.