The state government has announced that CT scans and MRI scans provided under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in district public hospitals will be free for Below Poverty Line (BPL) cardholders. Other patients will be charged only 70% of the regular fee. This initiative aims to make essential diagnostic services more accessible to economically disadvantaged populations.

Additionally, the government has approved a budget of Rs 13.30 crore for the AshaKiran scheme, which will offer comprehensive eye check-ups, surgeries, and free spectacles to residents across the state. BPL cardholders will also benefit from subsidized respiratory, cardiac, and bone marrow treatments under the Jeevasarthakathe scheme.

Minister H.K. Patil, during a press conference, state that the AshaKiran program is currently operational in districts such as Chikkaballapur, Kalaburagi, Haveri, Chamarajanagar, Chitradurga, Raichur, Uttara Kannada, and Mandya. The scheme will soon be expanded to the remaining 22 districts.

New Legislation to Facilitate Cornea Retrieval from Donors

To address the shortage of corneas and prevent the commercialization of organ donations, the state government is considering adopting the Central Government’s Human Organ Transplantation (Amendment) Act, 2011, under Article 252(1) of the Constitution. This move, approved by the cabinet, will be presented in the legislature.

The act will allow government hospitals to retrieve and preserve corneas from deceased donors without requiring consent from the next of kin, thus facilitating timely organ donation and transplantation.