Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY at 8: 48.51 Crore Cards, ₹2.03 Lakh Crore Care

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), the world's largest publicly funded health assurance scheme, completes eight years on 23 September 2026. The Press Information Bureau marked the anniversary on 22 September with a backgrounder on what the scheme has delivered so far.

The scheme in numbers

Who is covered

• Families are identified from the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011: six deprivation criteria in rural areas (such as households with one kucha room, no adult member aged 16–59, SC/ST households and landless casual labourers) and 11 occupational categories in urban areas (rag pickers, domestic workers, street vendors, construction workers and others). Families earlier covered under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana are included.
• In March 2024 about 37 lakh families of ASHAs, anganwadi workers and helpers were added; 44.81 lakh cards have been made for them.
• From 11 September 2024, all senior citizens aged 70 and above are covered regardless of income, about 6 crore people, through the Ayushman Vay Vandana card; 1.36 crore such cards have been issued.
• Other groups join through specific schemes: construction workers, road accident victims (PM-RAHAT), transgender persons (SMILE), children orphaned by COVID-19 (PM CARES for Children), sanitation workers (NAMASTE) and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PM-JANMAN).

How it is funded

AB PM-JAY is a centrally sponsored scheme. The Centre and the States share the cost 60:40, but the ratio is 90:10 for the North-Eastern States, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir. Union Territories without a legislature are funded 100% by the Centre.

The four pillars of Ayushman Bharat

PM-JAY is the financial-protection pillar for secondary and tertiary care. It works with three others: Ayushman Arogya Mandirs for primary care, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission for health IDs and records, and PM-ABHIM for health infrastructure. Together they are meant to move India towards universal health coverage and to cut what families spend from their own pockets on treatment.