Nikshay Poshan Yojana

Nikshay Poshan Yojana: Key Highlights

What Is the Nikshay Poshan Yojana?

Nikshay Poshan Yojana is a program that was introduced by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in April 2018. The mission is in the name NI-Kshay, meaning End TB, and Poshan, meaning nutrition. Combine them, and the results are not hard to figure out: make TB patients eat healthy, heal more quickly, and complete their treatment without dropping out.

Under this scheme, all registered TB patients are provided a monthly allowance of ₹1,000 which was formerly ₹ 500 to help them to afford nutritious food during their treatment. The money is directly deposited into the patient's bank account linked to Aadhaar via the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system. There are no intermediaries, no delays in theory, and no leaks possible.

Why Was This Scheme Needed?

India has one of the highest incidences of TB in the world. According to WHO 2023 report, India is home to 27% of the global TB cases. In India, every three minutes someone dies due to this infectious disease.

Government programmes have covered the treatment of TB, which is primarily medical, over the years in terms of diagnosis, treatment and hospitalisation. But nutrition? This was left up to the patient. It is simply impossible that a daily-wage worker or a poor family can buy protein rich food, and be too sick to work at the same time.

If a person does not have a well nourished body then it will not respond to TB medicines. Treatment drags on. Resistance develops. The disease spreads. It is a cycle and to break it, the Nikshay Poshan Yojana was launched.

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How Much Money Does a TB Patient Get Under Nikshay Poshan Yojana?

There has been a major upgrade here. The benefit of Nikshay Poshan Yojana has been increased to Rs.1000 from Rs.500 per month per patient.

Today, all TB cases are given nutrition assistance at the rate of Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 6,000 under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana throughout their treatment.

Furthermore, high energy nutritional supplementation has been done for all underweight patients, who have a BMI less than 18.5. This is important since, at the time of diagnosis, many patients with TB are already severely underweight.

Who Is Eligible for the Nikshay Poshan Yojana Scheme?

The test is general and simple. Any TB patient treated in a clinic (either private or state) may participate in this scheme. Specifically:

• The patient should be an Indian citizen.
• They have to be a known TB patient who has registered on the NIKSHAY portal.
• Patients who have been receiving TB treatment can even apply.
• Those patients receiving treatment in the public and the private sector are eligible.

The DBT is used to transfer the amount directly to the Aadhaar linked bank account of the patient for transparency and time saving delivery. If a patient doesn't have a bank account in their name, then a family member can be used if a self-attested consent letter is provided.

No income barrier. No caste filter. Eligibility: TB patient who is registered in NIKSHAY portal will be eligible. That's it.

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Documents Required For Nikshay Poshan Yojana Registration

Getting enrolled is not complicated. Patients need to arrange the following:

• Aadhaar Card
• Bank Passbook (Aadhaar-seeded)
• Active mobile number
• If the patient doesn't have their own bank account, the guardian or parent's bank details work. But this requires a consent letter.

How to Register for Nikshay Poshan Yojana

Patients don't need to run from office to office. The process is straightforward:

• Visit the nearest government health centre or TB clinic
• Inform the healthcare provider about your TB diagnosis
• Your details will be entered into the NIKSHAY portal by the health worker
• Submit your bank account details for DBT transfer
• Once verified through PFMS (Public Financial Management System), monthly payments begin

For any issues or queries, the nikshay poshan yojana helpline number is 1800116666, and the email helpdesk is helpdesk.nikshay@rntcp.org.

What Is the Nikshay Mitra Initiative?

The Nikshay Poshan Yojana is not the only scheme. It is associated with a larger community project Nikshay Mitra.

The President of India launched the 'Nakshay Mitra' programme on 9th September 2022 under the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan. As part of this project, an individual, NGO, cooperative society and/or organisation may adopt a TB patient with consent for a period of 6 months while they are being treated and offer support.

Think of it as an example of community sponsorship. A Nikshay Mitra can provide food baskets, nutrition support and emotional support to TB patients, who might not have any emotional support. To further respond to the pandemic situation, the Nikshay Mitra initiative has also been expanded to include family members and household contacts of TB patients.

Nikshay Poshan Yojana- The Impact So Far

The numbers from the ground are hard to ignore.

Challenges That Still Exist

It is also important to be straightforward about a government program, acknowledging its inadequacies. Some true hardships remain:

• Lack of awareness of the scheme - Many patients (especially in rural areas) do not know about the scheme.
• Payment delays on the portal - There are times when the payment is delayed due to late registration and this can result in payment delays for months.
• Failure to access a family member account – There is a provision to access the account of a family member, but not all people know about this and some patients still do not access the family member account.
• Nutritional and health risk – People living with TB patients are also at nutritional and health risk and so Nikshay Mitra was introduced, but many are unknown about this.

These are not excuses for not writing off the scheme, but are matters in which action needs to be taken in line with purpose.

Why Nikshay Poshan Yojana Matters Beyond TB

The poorest sections of the Indian society include the daily wage workers, migrant labourers and people who reside in the slums. They are disproportionately affected by TB. These are people who can't afford to end up without income even for a few months. 1000 Rupees a month is not a solution to the problem but a part of the solution, simply just telling a sick person that the system in which he lives does not ignore him.

Treating TB is more than just about getting the right medication. It involves the ability to feed. It does not mean that people will have to sacrifice eating food for purchasing medicines.The Nikshay Poshan Yojana is a programme that recognises it and acts upon it.

If you are aware of someone with TB, make sure that they are not in the air a lot. Help is on hand. All they have to do is to make it accessible to everyone.