Department of Public Administration

The Department of Public Administration, Panjab University Chandigarh in collaboration with Society for Promotion of Ethical and Affordable Health Care (SPEAK), Chandigarh organised one-day Symposium on “Ayushman Bharat: Central Government’s Flagship Health and Wellness Programme” on January 18, 2019 at the ICSSR NW Regional Centre, PU, Chandigarh. The Symposium began with the Inaugural Session followed by two technical sessions and valedictory session.

The Inaugural Session was presided over by Professor. B.S. Ghuman, Vice-Chancellor, Punjabi University, Patiala. Prof. Ramanjit Kaur Johal, Symposium Director and Chairperson, Department of Public Administration welcomed the guests and introduced the theme of the symposium. Prof. Johal stated that health development is essential for the social and economic development of the country and the highest attainment of the health is fundamental right of every citizen. Dr. Ram Kumar, President, SPEAK India, during his Inaugural Address, highlighted the initiatives undertaken by Society for Promotion of Ethical and Affordable Health Care (SPEAK) and talked about wellness for all and health insurance for poor. Dr. Shweta Mahendru, Project Director, Ayushman Bharat, Government of Punjab delivered the Keynote Address. She shared her experience of being actively involved in health insurance schemes in different states including Punjab. Prof. B.S. Ghuman, Vice Chancellor, Punjabi University, Patiala, in his presidential address recommended policy prescriptions like employment of objective and transparent method in identifying beneficiaries, improving coordination among implementing agencies, ensuring state’s share on regular basis, organizing capacity building programmes for officials and social audit of the Scheme.

The Inaugural Session was followed by First Technical Session titled Wellness and Fitness v/s Patient Care chaired by Sh, Vivek Atray, Former IAS and presently a motivational speaker. The speakers included Professor J.S. Thakur, PGIMER Chandigarh; Dr P.K. Taneja, IIPA New Delhi; Mr Rajeev Ranjan Roy, Freelance Journalist and Dr Anurag Sharma, Senior Cardiologist, OJAS Hospital, Panchkula and covered topics related to Ayushan Bharat such as non-communicable diseases; heart diseases, measures to be adopted for achieving the objectives of the programme. The second technical session titled Aspects of Health Insurance was chaired by Sh. A.S. Chatha (IAS, retd), former Chief Secretary, Punjab. The session had presentation made by Dr. A.S. Kohli, Ex-Regional Manager, National Insurance Company Ltd.; Professor Keerti Pardhan, Expert, Health Management, Chitkara University; Sh. Inderpal Singh, SBI; Ms Preeti, Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences, Chitkara University; and Ms. Saroj Nain, a key official associated with implementation of Ayushman Bharat in Chandigarh .

The Valedictory Session of the Symposium began with presentation of the report of the proceedings of the Symposium by Dr Bharati Garg, Symposium Coordinator, and Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, PU, Chandigarh. The Valedictory Address of the Seminar was delivered by Sh. Amardeep Singh Cheema, Chairman, Punjab Health Systems Corporation. During his address, Sh. Amardeep Singh Cheema referred to various health insurance schemes already playing a key role in providing health insurance coverage in Punjab specially to those belonging to disadvantaged sections of the society. Sh. Cheema informed the audience that Punjab is in the process of launching health insurance scheme, namely, Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana patterned on the philosophy of Ayushman. The scheme aims to cover more than 43 lakh families of Punjab with coverage of Rs. 5 lakh health insurance to achieve the state government’s objective of ensuring health for all. Sh. Cheema opined that the participation of civil society organizations, media and higher education institutions holds a key in improving the performance of initiatives in the healthcare sector. The session was presided over by Professor Shankarjit Ji Jha, Dean of University Instructions, PU, Chandigarh. In his address, Professor Jha drew support from Indian classical traditions and texts to further the aim of maintaining healthy lifestyle. Professor Ramanjit Kaur Johal proposed the vote of thanks.