General Awareness, Current Affairs and Railway/Health Policy
General Awareness, Current Affairs and Railway/Health Policy tests stable knowledge of Indian health programmes, railway organisation and recent policy, not gossip. Because current affairs change, learn the design and eligibility of a scheme rather than a single news headline.
Health programmes to know
Ayushman Bharat has two arms: Health and Wellness Centres for primary care and PM-JAY for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation, with cover of ₹5 lakh per eligible family per year. The National Health Mission supports maternal, child and disease-control programmes. The National Health Policy 2017 set a target of health spending at 2.5% of GDP and universal health coverage as a goal. Immunisation is delivered through the Universal Immunisation Programme.
Railway context
Indian Railways is organised into zones, divisions, workshops and training institutions, with its own health directorate and railway hospitals. Railway employees and eligible dependants receive medical benefits through railway hospitals; retired employees may join RELHS. The Railway Recruitment Board conducts selection, and appointment is subject to medical fitness standards.
Worked example
A family asks whether PM-JAY will pay for a planned cataract operation in an empanelled private hospital. Reasoning: PM-JAY covers secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation for eligible families, is cashless at empanelled hospitals, and covers cataract surgery. The family must show eligibility and use an empanelled hospital; transport and some excluded items are not covered.
Traps
Do not mix PM-JAY with CGHS, ESIC or state schemes. The ₹5 lakh cover is stable; ministerial names and latest rankings are not. Read 'not' questions twice. For railway facts, distinguish zones from divisions.