Union Health Minister, JP Nadda today said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi a paradigm shift has taken place in health services in the country and a new approach of holistic health has been adopted.

Mr. Nadda said, now from 2017 onwards focus has changed to preventive, promotional, rehabilitative and geriatric health from earlier curative approach.

The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister was addressing a function at Patna after the inauguration and laying of foundation stone of health related projects worth over 850 crore rupees.

He said, institutional delivery has leap frogged in the country and now it has surpassed 93 percent. Mr. Nadda added that due to improvement of health services one of the biggest cohorts has developed and every year 2 crore children and around 1.5 crore mothers are getting benefits. He said the health department is providing better mother and child care with six time antenatal tests and three time inoculation to pregnant mothers.

The Union Health Minister said on this principle we have launched the Ayushman Bharat which is providing free medical treatment benefits upto five lakh rupees annually to 44 percent population of the country. He said the biggest beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat scheme are poor and marginalized.

Earlier Mr. Nadda along with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated the high tech super speciality eye hospital Regional Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO) at IGIMS Patna. The biggest eye hospital of Eastern India RIO, Patna has been established with a cost of 188 crore rupees.

Mr. Nadda, who is on a two day tour to Bihar, also inaugurated a super specialty hospital at JLNMCH in Bhagalpur. Tomorrow he will visit the site of Darbhanga AIIMS at Shobhan and inaugurate the super specialty hospitals at Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur.