Tata offers Rs 25 cr annual medical aid to poor

The Tata Group and three other top business houses have joined hands with the Jharkhand government to ensure medical treatment to the state's below poverty line population.

Apart from the Tatas, Birla, Essar and Jindal group have formed the Sarva Swasthya Mission Trust -- which will be the first of its kind private-public partnership in the country.

This project will provide health coverage and medical treatment to the poorest of the poor in the state at affordable prices and also encourage good private sector health services to reach out to remote and rural areas, a release by the Tata Group said.

Tata Group will contribute Rs 25 crore (Rs 250 million) every year for the next 30 years to the trust.

The state government has also confirmed its contribution and other three business houses are expected to announce their contribution soon, the release said.

The trust will be independently run by a management group and function on the principles of accessibility, affordability, availability and accountability in the services offered, the release said.

The trust will provide OPD services, diagnosis, medicines, referral linkages, hospitalisation and specialised treatment, it said.

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