New Delhi: Under-privileged children will be issued electronic health cards (EHC) to help them access free medical treatment at all state-owned hospitals and primary health centres, the government said here on Thursday.

"The project head of the Unique Identification Number Authority of India (UIDAI) project, Mr. Nandan Nilekani, has already been asked to collect information about such children at a meeting," said Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Trivedi.

"I and Mr. Nilekani met here at my office on Wednesday to assign the job of children's identification and compiling data and share them with the health ministry to enable it issue electronic health cards to children of humble background," said Trivedi.

The minister was speaking at the seventh Knowledge Millennium Summit on Health organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and industry of India (Assocham).

He said the cards would entitle targeted children to avail free medical treatment in all state-owned hospitals.

The ministry has also asked Nilekani to work out modalities for making a national health portal that will display facilities available in these hospitals, Trivedi added. IANS