BharatNotes What is Telemedicine (eSanjeevani)?
Telemedicine is the delivery of healthcare services remotely using digital communication tools — connecting patients with doctors, or junior doctors with specialists, without a physical visit. eSanjeevani is India's flagship national telemedicine service, conceptualised by the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and indigenously developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Mohali. It is a cloud-based platform widely described as the world's largest government-owned telemedicine system, and it is integrated with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
The Two Models
eSanjeevani operates through two complementary variants serving different users.
| Variant | Model | Launched | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| eSanjeevani AB-HWC | Doctor-to-Doctor (provider-to-provider) | November 2019 | A patient visits an Ayushman Bharat Health & Wellness Centre (the "spoke"); a health worker connects them to a doctor or specialist at a "hub" (district hospital / medical college) using a hub-and-spoke design |
| eSanjeevani OPD | Patient-to-Doctor (direct-to-patient) | 13 April 2020 | A citizen with internet access consults a doctor directly from home; launched during the first COVID-19 lockdown when physical OPDs were closed |
Significance
eSanjeevani directly addresses India's skewed doctor distribution, where specialists concentrate in cities while rural areas remain underserved. By routing primary-level patients to remote specialists, it strengthens the Health & Wellness Centre layer of Ayushman Bharat and reduces the need for costly travel and referral, lowering out-of-pocket expenditure. Because consultations are free and accessible either via smartphone or through a nearby HWC for those without devices, the service has high uptake in rural and underserved regions — advancing equity in healthcare access. Its integration with ABDM links teleconsultations to digital health records, building toward a unified national digital health ecosystem.
Current Status
eSanjeevani has scaled rapidly. The Union Health Minister marked the 10 crore beneficiaries milestone in February 2023 (PIB). The platform has continued to grow, crossing 43 crore consultations as of 23 November 2025, with services functional across all 28 states and 8 Union Territories. The system has been augmented to handle over one million consultations in a single day at peak load, underscoring its robustness as public digital infrastructure.
UPSC Angle
For Prelims, remember the verifiable specifics: developed by C-DAC Mohali, conceptualised by the Health Ministry, the AB-HWC (doctor-to-doctor, hub-and-spoke) versus OPD (patient-to-doctor) distinction, and the ABDM linkage. For Mains GS2/GS3, eSanjeevani is an ideal case study for answers on technology in healthcare delivery, digital governance, and inclusive development — pair it with ABDM, the National Digital Health Mission, and the broader Ayushman Bharat framework. Foundation concept — no direct PYQ; underpins questions on the digital health and IT-in-governance topic family.
