Ayushman Bharat Completes Eight Years, 60 Crore Beneficiaries

Ayushman Bharat has completed eight years since it was rolled out, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the anniversary to set out what the health initiative has added up to. He recalled the thought behind it: that every Indian, and not only those who could pay, should be able to reach good-quality and affordable care.

The numbers he cited

By the Prime Minister's account, the scheme today covers more than 60 crore beneficiaries, each entitled to an annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh. On that strength he described it as the largest healthcare scheme anywhere in the world. He said the cover has produced record savings on medical bills, and that the gain has gone mainly to the poor and the middle class, for whom a hospital admission had long meant borrowing or selling what little they owned.

Care moving closer to home

The second half of his message dealt with the part of the initiative that works outside hospitals. Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, the centres that carry primary care into neighbourhoods and villages, have together recorded more than 500 crore visits. The Prime Minister read that figure as evidence that healthcare is moving closer to every doorstep and that primary care at the grassroots is being strengthened, rather than patients having to travel to a district town for an ordinary complaint.

Why the anniversary matters

The message was posted on X with the tag #8YearsOfAyushmanBharat, and closed with the Prime Minister's best wishes to everyone covered by the scheme. For an exam candidate the release is useful because it puts three examinable figures in one place: the number of beneficiaries, the size of the annual cover, and the visits counted at the primary-care centres. The claim that follows from them, that no other health scheme in the world covers as many people, is itself a frequently asked line.