The major healthcare plan announced in the Union Budget presented on 1st February is likely to be launched on August 15 or October 2 this year, reported PTI. The health insurance plan that will cover 10 crore poor families will cost Rs 12,000 crore annually, said officials.

This 'National Healthcare Protection Scheme' dubbed as 'Modicare' will be the world's largest healthcare scheme and will be funded with 60% contribution from central government and rest from state governments said NITI Aayog advisor Alok Kumar.

The premium for this insurance will be borne by the Centre and states. It is expected to be around Rs 1,000 to 2,000 annually, per family. This will provide a Rs 5 lakh cover per family, per year.

The Budget provided for Rs 2,000 crore as an initial corpus. The 10 crore population covered constitutes 40% of India's population. The families identified as poor by the Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011 with be eligible. This will be a cashless scheme, not a reimbursement one.