Pune, 4th July 2025: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah announced that under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, nearly 80 crore Indians are now covered with free medical insurance of up to ₹5 lakh, ensuring that people no longer need to fear health-related expenses.
He highlighted that 70% of diseases are caused by poor hygiene, and the Modi government has reduced health issues by building toilets and promoting sanitation.
Shah was speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Pune Lifespace International Hospital, a world-class tertiary healthcare project, held at Vadachi Wadi. The event was also attended by Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, BJP State President Ravindra Chavan, and trustees of Pune Hospital including Devichand K. Jain, Rajkumar Choradia, and Purushottam Lohia.
Amit Shah added that medical education infrastructure is rapidly improving. “Earlier, the country had 51,000 MBBS seats per year. That number has now doubled to 1.18 lakh seats. The health budget has also tripled from ₹37,000 crore to ₹1.36 lakh crore, targeted for the year 2025-26.”
In his welcome speech, Rajkumar Choradia, Managing Trustee of Pune Hospital, said the hospital was established in 1982 and is now expanding into the Pune Lifespace International project. It will be built on 14 acres, with an investment of ₹900 crore, and will include both advanced healthcare services and medical education facilities. Purushottam Lohia expressed gratitude during the ceremony.
Earlier in the day, Amit Shah also visited the under-construction Balasaheb Deoras Hospital at Khadi Machine Chowk in Kondhwa Budruk. The first phase of this hospital, comprising 300 beds, is expected to begin operations by April 2026. Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, Minister Murlidhar Mohol, Minister Chandrakant Patil, BJP leader Ravindra Chavan, and RSS representative Manoj Pochat were also present.
