As per the notice issued by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat today, the Union Health Minister J P Nadda informed the House on Friday that of all the states and UTs except West Bengal, all have been onboarded under the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) as of March 26, 2025. Since the scheme’s inception, it has already achieved a lot in trying to give free healthcare to poor, economically weaker sections.
Until March 1, 2025, AB-PMJAY has authorized over 8.9 crore hospital admissions in value of over ₹ 1.26 lakh crore, Nadda said. The initiative proved hugely significant in ensuring millions of families up and down the country have had financial protection for medical expenses.
When asked about this, the minister said that as of March 20, 2025, over 10.21 lakh Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), 14.47 lakh Anganwadi Workers and 14.76 lakh Anganwadi Helpers received Ayushman cards, and the cards would pave the way for the linked social health activists to access cashless healthcare services.
Additionally, 30,957 hospitals have also been empanelled under the scheme, which includes 13,866 private and 17,091 public hospitals to build up the infrastructure of healthcare for AB-PMJAY beneficiaries.
The scheme has been cashing in with more than 2.21 crore hospital admissions worth ₹34,954 crore in the financial year 2024-25, which proves its expanding presence and impact. The government, he added, continually updates the program with an increase in the beneficiary base, provision of more medical procedures and empanelling more hospitals as warranted.
AB-PMJAY originated by identifying beneficiary families with respect to 6 deprivation criteria for a rural area and 11 occupation criteria for an urban area on the basis of data from the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) of the year 2011. In January 2022, it expanded the area of coverage, set an annual, decadal growth rate of 11.7 percent, increased the beneficiary base to 12 crore families and allowed the states and Union Territories to use other databases for the process of benefits verification.
Expanding the coverage of Ayushman Bharat -PMJAY, India’s healthcare system is expected to gain further strength through continuing progress as the number of people provided with accessibility to quality medical care and financial security continues to expand.
Join our whatsapp group for Latest updates
Click Here for Chhattisgarh News
Click Here for Entertainment News