Union Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister J P Nadda will inaugurate Arogya Manthan 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan on Friday, marking eight years of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) and five years of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
Organised by the National Health Authority (NHA), the event will feature thematic discussions on health assurance and digital health, including the role of the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX) in streamlining and standardising health insurance processes.
The parallel sessions under the AB PM-JAY and ABDM tracks will focus on technology-driven claims processing and programme integrity, strategic purchasing for quality and cost-effectiveness, digital platforms to expand access to healthcare services, and the use of common health-data standards to improve information exchange and continuity of care.
Arogya Manthan 2026 will also see the launch of several initiatives aimed at strengthening India’s digital health and health assurance ecosystem. These include the National Healthcare Providers Registry (NHPR) Mobile App, NHCX Implementation Guide for Payers, Guidebook for a Model Digital Health Facility, Secure Data Environment (SDE) application and a framework for auto-adjudication of claims under AB PM-JAY.
The SDE, developed by the NHA with support from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, is designed as a governed environment for accessing and analysing AB PM-JAY and ABDM health data. Approved entities will be able to work with de-identified data or execute code within an isolated NHA environment, with outputs reviewed before release.
The initiative is intended to support health research, programme planning, outcome analysis and responsible artificial intelligence innovation, while incorporating safeguards for personal data protection.
The event will also recognise the best-performing states and Union Territories across various categories under AB PM-JAY and ABDM for their efforts in strengthening health assurance and digital health implementation.
About AB PM-JAY and ABDM
Launched in 2018, AB PM-JAY provides health cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family annually for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation. More than 60 crore beneficiaries have been covered under the scheme, which has facilitated over 13 crore hospital admissions involving treatment worth more than Rs 2 lakh crore.
In October 2024, the scheme was expanded to cover all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status. The expansion brought around six crore additional senior citizens under the scheme.
The ABDM, launched in September 2021, is aimed at creating an interoperable and citizen-centric digital health ecosystem. Its key digital building blocks include the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA), Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) and Health Facility Registry (HFR).
As of September 1, 2026, more than 97.8 crore ABHAs had been created and over 121 crore health records linked. More than 5.6 lakh health facilities and 11 lakh healthcare professionals were registered on the ABDM ecosystem.
The mission has also focused on digital health standards and the responsible use of technology and artificial intelligence in healthcare. Initiatives such as the Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare for India (SAHI), Benchmarking Open Data Platform in Health AI (BODH), Common Lab Codes for India and Bharat Health Terminology Service (BHTS) are aimed at supporting a standardised and interoperable digital health ecosystem.
Citizen-centric initiatives, including Scan & Register, Scan & Pay and e-Sushrut Clinic, have also been introduced to support the adoption of digital health services.
Arogya Manthan 2026 will bring together senior government officials, healthcare providers, insurers, technology and digital health experts, academia, development partners and other stakeholders to review progress under India’s health assurance and digital health programmes and discuss priorities for the next phase.
