Prime Minister Narendra Modi often choses to dress in a traditional attire while attending an event of a particular region and this time it was a Kashmiri "pheran" as he launched the Ayushman Bharat scheme to extend health insurance benefits to residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
Pheran is a Kashmiri form of cloak, worn by locals.
Sources close to the prime minister said he had received the pheran as a gift in winters last year from a farm labourer from Jammu and Kashmir.
PM Modi had planned to wear this during his visit to the region, but the trip could not materialise due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
He launched the scheme through video-conferencing today and wore the "special gift", the sources said.
Recently, PM Modi was also seen donning Bengali shawls during his various virtual programmes for West Bengal.
The Prime Minister's Office said the Ayushman Bharat scheme will ensure universal health coverage, and focus on providing financial risk protection and ensuring quality and affordable essential health services to all individuals and communities in Jammu and Kashmir.
PM Modi Chairs Security Meet Amid Rising Terror Attacks In Jammu Major Crackdown Launched On Terror Network In J&K After Doda Encounter PM Modi Likely To Meet BJP Workers At Party Headquarters Tomorrow World's Largest Isolated Tribe Makes Rare Appearance In New Footage Barack Obama Wants Joe Biden To Pull Out Of US Presidential Race: Report 32 Dead In Bangladesh Unrest, Protesters Set Fire To State TV Headquarters NEET PG 2024: Test Cities Out For Postgraduate Medical Entrance Exam After 53 Years, Mortar Shells From 1971 Indo-Pak War Found In Fish Pond "Humanitarian Crisis Due To Israel-Hamas Conflict Concerning": India At UN Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.