Ayushman Bharat Pradhan-Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) is the world’s largest public healthcare scheme, providing more than 60 crore beneficiaries with health cover of up to Rs 5 lakh annually, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday.
Launched on September 23, 2018, to advance universal health coverage, the scheme provides cashless healthcare services for secondary and tertiary care and has so far facilitated treatment worth up to Rs 2.03 lakh crore through about 13.25 crore hospital admissions, with a network of over 38,000 empanelled public and private hospitals as of August 31, 2026. The scheme currently provides cashless healthcare services for 1,961 procedures across 27 medical specialties, the Government said.
In a post on X, PM Modi said:
“Eight years ago, Ayushman Bharat was rolled out with the idea that every Indian should have access to top-quality and affordable healthcare. Today, more than 60 crore beneficiaries have access to Rs. 5 lakh annual health cover, making it the largest healthcare scheme in the world. It has enabled record savings on medical expenses, thus benefiting the poor and middle class. And healthcare is moving closer to every doorstep. Ayushman Arogya Mandirs have already recorded over 500 crore visits, strengthening primary healthcare at the grassroots. My best wishes to all Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries.”
https://x.com/narendramodi/status/2102616096767447204?s=20
Union Health Minister JP Nadda hailed the AB PM-JAY scheme and its vast reach, and posted on X:
“…More than ₹2 Lakh Crore+ worth of hospitalisation and treatment has been availed through 39,000+ empanelled public and private hospitals across the country…”
“…Behind every number is a story — a family protected from the burden of medical debt, a patient receiving timely treatment, a loved one relieved of pain, and a household able to face illness without the fear of financial hardship…”
https://x.com/JPNadda/status/2102599677338349678?s=20
Expanded Coverage for Senior Citizens, Frontline Health Workers
The Government also expanded the scheme on September 11, 2024, to cover all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, benefiting around 6 crore senior citizens. As of September 21 this year, more than 1.36 crore Ayushman Vay Vandana cards have been created for eligible senior citizens.
Earlier, in March 2024, the scheme was expanded to include around 37 lakh families of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), anganwadi workers and anganwadi helpers. As of September 21, 2026, more than 44.81 lakh Ayushman cards have been created for ASHAs, AWWs, and AWHs under the scheme.
Empowering Vulnerable Beneficiaries
AB PM-JAY primarily identifies beneficiary families through Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 deprivation and occupational criteria, while also covering families earlier enrolled under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY).
Rural beneficiaries: Households meeting specified deprivation criteria, including those living in kutcha houses, without adult members, female-headed households without adult males, households with disabled members and no able-bodied adult, SC/ST households, and landless families dependent mainly on manual casual labour.
Urban beneficiaries: Workers in occupational categories, including ragpickers, domestic workers, street vendors, construction workers, sanitation workers, artisans, transport workers, shop workers, mechanics and washermen/chowkidars.
Additional vulnerable groups: The scheme has also been extended through specific initiatives to Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) and dependants, road accident victims, transgender persons, eligible children under PM CARES, waste pickers and identified sanitation workers, and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
Centre-States Partnership, Rising Budgetary Support
AB-PMJAY is a centrally sponsored scheme, with the Centre and States sharing the funding in a 60:40 ratio in most States. The Centre-State funding ratio is 90:10 for the North-Eastern States, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. For Union Territories without a legislature, the Centre provides 100 per cent funding, while in Union Territories with a legislature, the funding is shared in a 60:40 ratio.
The scheme has also received steadily higher budgetary support in recent years, with Rs 9,500 crore allocated in the Union Budget Estimates for 2026-27.
-with PIB inputs
