What is Ayushman Bharat?

Ayushman Bharat is India's flagship universal health coverage initiative, launched in 2018 with two major components: Health and Wellness Centres (now Ayushman Arogya Mandirs) for primary care and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation cover. PM-JAY is the world's largest government-funded health assurance scheme, providing cashless cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year.

The scheme targets the bottom 40% of the population — over 12 crore families (approximately 55 crore beneficiaries) identified through the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011. In October 2024, the government expanded PM-JAY to cover all senior citizens aged 70 and above regardless of income, under the Ayushman Vay Vandana Yojana. As of December 2025, over 93 lakh Ayushman Vay Vandana cards have been issued.

The programme operates through empanelled hospitals — both public and private — across the country. Over 42 crore Ayushman cards have been issued since inception, and the scheme has saved beneficiaries an estimated Rs 1.52 lakh crore in out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure.

Ayushman Bharat represents a paradigm shift in India's healthcare approach — moving from a fragmented, hospital-centric model to a comprehensive continuum of care spanning primary (Arogya Mandirs), secondary, and tertiary levels (PM-JAY). The scheme covers over 1,900 treatment procedures across 27 specialties, and the entitlement is on a family-floater basis with no cap on family size. Beneficiaries pay zero premium — the scheme is entirely government-funded. A key innovation is its portability feature, allowing beneficiaries to seek treatment at any empanelled hospital across India, regardless of their home state.

Key Features

# Feature Details
1 Launch Year 2018; PM-JAY operationalised on 23 September 2018
2 Coverage Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care
3 Target Group 12 crore families (~55 crore individuals) from SECC 2011 database
4 Senior Citizen Expansion All citizens aged 70+ covered from October 2024 (Vay Vandana)
5 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs Over 1.6 lakh operational (as of Sep 2025) for primary healthcare
6 Cashless Treatment Available at empanelled public and private hospitals nationwide
7 Nodal Agency National Health Authority (NHA)
8 Portability Beneficiaries can avail treatment at any empanelled hospital across India
9 Treatment Procedures Over 1,900 procedures across 27 specialties covered
10 Budget 2026-27 Rs 9,500 crore allocated for PM-JAY

Current Status / Latest Data

  • Budget 2026-27: PM-JAY allocation increased to Rs 9,500 crore, a 5.56% rise over revised estimates of FY 2025-26.
  • Health Ministry Budget 2026-27: Total allocation of Rs 1,06,530 crore to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, a ~10% rise.
  • PM-ABHIM: Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission has an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore (2021-2026) for strengthening hospitals, labs, and disease surveillance.
  • Over 42 crore Ayushman cards issued; 93 lakh+ Vay Vandana cards for seniors (as of Dec 2025).
  • Scheme has saved an estimated Rs 1.52 lakh crore in out-of-pocket healthcare costs (Economic Survey 2024-25).
  • Over 1.6 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs operational as of September 2025, offering NCD screening, dental, eye care, maternal health, and emergency services.
  • The scheme faces challenges including low awareness in remote areas, delays in claim settlement, limited empanelment of private hospitals in underserved districts, and concerns about the quality of care at empanelled facilities.
  • State adoption: All states and UTs have joined except West Bengal and Delhi (which run their own health schemes). Delhi announced its own health cover scheme in the 2026 state budget.

UPSC Exam Corner

Prelims: Key Facts

  • PM-JAY covers Rs 5 lakh per family per year (not per individual)
  • National Health Authority (NHA) is the implementing agency, not the Ministry of Health directly
  • Senior citizens aged 70+ covered since October 2024 under Ayushman Vay Vandana Yojana
  • Ayushman Arogya Mandirs replaced the earlier Health and Wellness Centres nomenclature
  • PM-JAY is an entitlement-based scheme — no premium is paid by beneficiaries
  • The scheme covers over 1,900 treatment procedures across 27 specialties
  • SECC 2011 is the basis for beneficiary identification (deprivation and occupational criteria)

Mains: Probable Themes

  1. Evaluate Ayushman Bharat's role in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in India
  2. Analyse the challenges of expanding PM-JAY to the "missing middle" — those above SECC threshold but without private insurance
  3. Discuss the convergence between PM-JAY and state-level health insurance schemes (Aarogyasri, MJPJAY)
  4. How far has Ayushman Bharat addressed the problem of catastrophic health expenditure in India?
  5. Critically examine whether India's public health spending (currently ~2.1% of GDP) is adequate to sustain schemes like Ayushman Bharat

Sources: NHA — About PM-JAY, PIB — Union Budget 2026-27 Health Allocation, PIB — Ayushman Vay Vandana Update, IBEF — Ayushman Bharat