Kolkata: Six crore people of West Bengal, who were “Swasthya Sathi” card beneficiaries during the Trinamool regime, will get the benefits of the “Ayushman Bharat” scheme from July this year, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced on Saturday. Fresh applications for the scheme can be made under this scheme. Meanwhile, in a major step to bring transparency to the recruitment process, providing carbon copies of OMR sheets to candidates who appeared for examinations will be made mandatory.The Chief Minister announced that the Centre has sanctioned Rs 2100 crore for West Bengal on Saturday under the National Health Mission scheme, and Rs 500 crore has been received today.Already, Rs 976 crore has been allocated, and AIIMS for North Bengal and medical colleges in all districts have been proposed in the state.Also read | Fortis liability case: Delhi HC says blame can't be shifted to third party“Ayushman Bharat” is the central health insurance scheme, while “Swasthya Sathi” was introduced by the Trinamool Congress regime as a separate health insurance scheme. The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government did not allow implementation of “Ayushman Bharat” in the state.After taking charge, Adhikari announced that “Ayushman Bharat” would be implemented in West Bengal from June.“At present, there are six crore beneficiaries enrolled under the ‘Swasthya Sathi’ scheme in West Bengal. They all will be linked to the ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme from July,” the Chief Minister said. He said that these beneficiaries will get “Ayushman Bharat” cards soon.“The total central sanction for the ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme is Rs 976 crore,” the CM said. Citizens residing outside Bengal for education and livelihoods will also get benefits under the “Ayushman Bharat” scheme.“Four districts in West Bengal do not have a single medical college now. The proposal to set up medical colleges in those four districts will be sent to the Centre. Today, during the meeting with Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, I requested him regarding the Prime Minister’s dream project, and he has assured full cooperation,” the CM said.Also read | No cosmetic job with jabs, warns drug regulator CDSCO“A proposal for setting up a unit of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in North Bengal will be finalised following discussions with public representatives,” Adhikari said.“Over 7 lakh cervical cancer vaccines will be provided in West Bengal, and these will be administered to girls between the ages of 14 and 15. This will be officially launched in West Bengal from May 30,” the Chief Minister said.In a major step to bring transparency to the recruitment process, it will be mandatory to provide carbon copies of OMR sheets to candidates who appeared for the tests. Adhikari said, “Carbon copies should be provided to all candidates. Though the exams were conducted using the OMR system, carbon copies were not provided.”The only goal is to implement a 100 per cent corruption-free recruitment process, he added.Bakri Eid leave reducedThe West Bengal government has reduced the Bakrid holidays from two days to one day, according to a notification issued by the state Finance Department on Friday. The earlier two-day holiday had been introduced during the tenure of the previous government led by Mamata Banerjee.The notification, as seen by ET, stated that under an earlier order issued on November 27, 2025, May 26 and May 27, 2026, had been declared public holidays on account of “Day before Id-Ud-Zoha (Bakrid)” and “Id-Ud-Zoha (Bakrid)” respectively.