What Happened
- India's flagship health insurance programme has crossed the milestone of 43.18 crore Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY cards created as of early 2026, covering the bottom 40% of India's population.
- Simultaneously, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) reports a surge in digitally linked health records, with over 85 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) created and 45 crore health records linked to ABHA IDs.
- The expansion reflects the government's push to integrate financial health protection with a unified digital health identity for every citizen.
- In 2024, the scheme was expanded to cover all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, regardless of income, adding approximately 6 crore senior citizens across 4.5 crore families.
- The National Health Authority (NHA) oversees both PM-JAY and ABDM, making it the nodal body for India's digital health ecosystem.
Static Topic Bridges
Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY)
AB PM-JAY, launched on 23 September 2018 in Ranchi, Jharkhand, is the world's largest government-funded health assurance scheme. It provides a health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. The scheme targets approximately 55 crore beneficiaries from the bottom 40% of the Indian population, identified using Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data. It is administered by the National Health Authority (NHA) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- Coverage: ₹5 lakh per family per year (cashless, paperless treatment)
- Beneficiaries: ~55 crore persons from ~12 crore vulnerable families
- Procedures covered: 1,949 treatment packages across 27 medical specialties
- Benefits include free drugs (15 days post-discharge), diagnostics, food, and accommodation
- 2024 expansion: All citizens aged 70+ covered regardless of income (additional 6 crore senior citizens)
Connection to this news: The 43-crore card milestone directly measures enrolment under PM-JAY; each card is issued to a verified beneficiary and is the gateway to cashless treatment at empanelled hospitals.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) and ABHA
The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission was launched on 27 September 2021 to build a federated national digital health ecosystem. Its centrepiece is the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) — a unique 14-digit health identification number that allows citizens to link, store, and share health records digitally across hospitals, labs, and insurance providers. The mission comprises five components: ABHA, ABHA Mobile App, Health Facility Registry (HFR), Healthcare Professional Registry (HPR), and Unified Health Interface (UHI).
- ABHA: Over 85 crore accounts created; each is a unique, longitudinal health ID
- Health records linked to ABHA: Over 45 crore records digitised and linked
- HFR: 3.49 lakh health facilities registered; HPR: 5.23 lakh healthcare professionals registered
- ABDM enables interoperability — records can be shared across any compliant provider using ABHA
- Nodal authority: National Health Authority (NHA) under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Connection to this news: The surge in digital health records referenced in the article reflects the ABDM's success in linking PM-JAY's financial protection layer with a digital identity infrastructure, creating a longitudinal health record for each beneficiary.
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and India's Constitutional Basis
Universal Health Coverage — the principle that all people can access health services without financial hardship — is a key Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 3.8). India's approach to UHC is rooted in the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP), particularly Article 47 (duty of the state to raise the level of nutrition and improve public health). PM-JAY operationalises this constitutional mandate by shifting from out-of-pocket expenditure to a government-backed insurance model.
- India's out-of-pocket health expenditure was ~47% of total health expenditure (National Health Accounts, 2021-22)
- PM-JAY directly addresses catastrophic health expenditure, which pushes ~5.5 crore Indians into poverty annually (pre-PM-JAY estimate)
- Health and Family Welfare is a State List subject (Schedule VII), but PM-JAY operates as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with Centre-State cost sharing (60:40; 90:10 for special category states)
- National Health Policy 2017 set a target to raise public health expenditure to 2.5% of GDP
Connection to this news: The 43-crore card milestone signals the scale of PM-JAY's penetration and India's progress toward UHC, but also highlights the gap — 55 crore intended beneficiaries versus 43 crore cards suggest continued enrolment challenges.
Key Facts & Data
- Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY launched: 23 September 2018
- Health cover per family per year: ₹5 lakh
- Target beneficiaries: ~55 crore persons (~12 crore families)
- PM-JAY cards issued: 43.18 crore (as of early 2026)
- ABHA accounts created: Over 85 crore
- Digital health records linked: Over 45 crore
- ABDM launched: 27 September 2021
- 2024 expansion: All citizens 70+ years covered, adding ~6 crore senior citizens
- Ministry: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Nodal body: National Health Authority (NHA)
- Medical procedures covered under PM-JAY: 1,949 packages across 27 specialties