The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released details on India’s progress toward universal health coverage through the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) and three supporting programmes. The flagship scheme, now in its eighth year, provides free hospital care to economically vulnerable families across the country and has already reached about one-third of India’s population.
Key Numbers and Coverage
AB PM-JAY offers annual cashless hospitalisation coverage of up to Rs. 5 lakh per family. As of September 2026, the scheme covers over 48.51 crore people holding Ayushman cards. Since its launch on September 23, 2018, it has funded 13.25 crore hospital admissions worth Rs. 2.03 lakh crore across 1,961 procedures in 27 medical specialties. A network of over 38,000 public and private hospitals participates in the scheme.
In March 2024, the government expanded coverage to include 37 lakh families of Accredited Social Health Activists, anganwadi workers, and anganwadi helpers. More than 44.81 lakh Ayushman cards have been created for these workers. From September 2024, all senior citizens aged 70 years and above became eligible. As of September 2026, over 1.36 crore senior citizens hold Ayushman Vay Vandana cards.
Eligibility in rural areas is based on deprivation criteria from the Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011, covering households with no adult members, female-headed households, those with disabled members, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and landless households dependent on casual labour. Urban workers in eleven occupational categories including construction workers, domestic workers, street vendors, sanitation workers, and transport workers qualify.
Three complementary programmes support AB PM-JAY. Ayushman Arogya Mandirs provide primary care through upgraded health centres, conducting more than 50 crore teleconsultations and recording over 540 crore visits. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission has created 97.61 crore digital health identities linked to 119.95 crore health records. The PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, budgeted at Rs. 64,180 crore for 2021-2026, supports 23,224 rural health centres, 13,736 urban health centres, and 631 critical care hospital blocks.
What This Means for You
If you belong to an economically weaker section or work in specified occupations, you can access secondary and tertiary hospital care free of cost up to Rs. 5 lakh annually through your Ayushman card. Your medical expenses are covered cashlessly at empanelled hospitals, reducing the need to pay out of pocket. Additionally, your health records are now digitally integrated through your unique health ID, allowing seamless access across multiple healthcare providers and telemedicine services.