Arun Jaitley to announce Karunya Benevolent Fund's achievement

KOCHI: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will attend a function here tomorrow to celebrate the achievement of Kerala government's Karunya Benevolent Fund, launched to finance treatment expenses of poor people from the revenue earned from its Karunya lottery.

Jaitley will announce the achievement of the Karunya Benevolent Fund which has distributed Rs 800 crore to 1,11,111 beneficiaries at the function to be inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, a government release said today.

State finance minister K M Mani, who is the Chairman Karunya Benevolent Fund, will preside over the function.

Launched in 2012, the fund is providing financial assistance to under-privileged people suffering from acute ailments like cancer, haemophilia, kidney and heart diseases and for palliative care.

According to the state government, a total of Rs 800 core has been distributed to 1,11,111 beneficiaries under the scheme, it said.

The amount for the health scheme is raised through the Karunya lottery started in October 2011.

The state government has claimed that the welfare measure was helpful to those who suffer from ailments, cost of treatment of which is proved to be unbearable to lower and even middle strata of society.

"The income generated through the sale of Karunya Lottery is exclusively devoted for extending financial assistance to the purpose. Karunya Lottery comes out with an attractive structure offering Rs one crore as first prize," government said in a release.