Mumbai- The 'Lab Mitra' initiative, launched last year in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency of Varanasi, has won the National e-Governance Gold Award at the National e-Governance Conference 2024 in Mumbai. The award recognizes its contributions to administrative reforms and e-governance at the district level.

'Lab Mitra' was started by Varanasi's district administration with the support of a private bank and an NGO. The program has been successful and has expanded across Uttar Pradesh under the name 'Lab Report.' It is now available at 20 hospitals, including all government hospitals in Varanasi. Over 250,000 patients have benefited from this service.

The 'Lab Mitra' portal allows patients at government hospitals to register for lab tests based on their doctor’s prescription. After the tests, the system sends an online report link via text message to the patient's phone. Patients can access their complete lab test reports four hours after testing at a Community Health Center (CHC) and 12 hours after testing at a government hospital.