Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana will support beneficiaries of RSBY

With the expiry of the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) from Monday, the Odisha government has decided to include all its 44,08,070 beneficiaries into the Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana (BKKY). The RSBY cardholders will get all the benefits of BKKY from the new year, as well as those under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), an official said. Chief Secretary A P Padhi had recently held a discussion with all district collectors through video conferencing and issued directions to provide BKKY cards to beneficiaries of RSBY. Beneficiaries have been advised to exchange their old RSBY cards with BKKY cards.

The RSBY cardholders can also avail health insurance coverage of Rs 1 lakh. At present, Antodaya card holders and people having an annual income of below Rs 50,000 in rural areas and Rs 60,000 in urban areas get benefits under the BKKY. An official release said people having an annual income of below Rs 3 lakh can get OSTF support for heart, kidney and cancer diseases. The BSKY, which was launched on August 15, has covered over 3.5 crore people belonging to more than 70 lakh families enrolled in BKKY and RSBY schemes, officials said.