30 Crore Ayushman Cards Issued Through Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 15th Jan. The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri – Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) has achieved a significant milestone by creating over 30 crore Ayushman cards as of January 12, 2024. This flagship scheme, implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA), aims to provide health coverage of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to 12 crore beneficiary families.
The creation of Ayushman cards is a crucial aspect of the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, and continuous efforts are being made to ensure that every beneficiary under the scheme has an Ayushman card. As a result of these persistent efforts, the scheme has successfully created 30 crore Ayushman cards. Over 16.7 crore Ayushman cards were created in the last two financial years alone, and more than 7.5 crore Ayushman cards have been created in the current financial year. This means that approximately 181 Ayushman cards are being created every minute.
The creation of Ayushman cards is included in the on-spot services offered during the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, which was launched on November 15, 2023, with the aim of ensuring the saturation of various government schemes. This campaign has significantly expedited the card creation process at the grassroots level. More than 2.43 crore Ayushman cards were created during the Yatra, and over 5.6 crore Ayushman cards were created during the Ayushman Bhava campaign launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to achieve saturation of different health schemes.
In order to reach the most remote areas, the NHA has launched the ‘Ayushman App’ for Ayushman Card creation. The app has a unique self-verification feature that allows users to create an Ayushman Card using an Android mobile phone in just four simple steps. Additionally, any person can assist beneficiaries in creating an Ayushman card, promoting Jan Bhagidari (public participation) in the process. The success of this application can be seen from the fact that it has been downloaded over 52 lakh times since its launch on September 13, 2023.
Uttar Pradesh tops the list of states with the highest number of Ayushman Cards created, with 4.83 crore cards. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra rank second and third, with 3.78 crore and 2.39 crore Ayushman cards respectively. Eleven states have more than 1 crore Ayushman card holders.
Furthermore, approximately 14.6 crore Ayushman cards have been created for females, as the scheme aims to achieve gender parity in access to healthcare services. Currently, 49% of Ayushman cards have been issued to female beneficiaries, and 48% of the treatments provided under the scheme have been availed by females, highlighting the scheme’s commitment to gender equity.
The Ayushman Card has become a symbol of equity, entitlement, and empowerment. It assures poor and deprived families that they will be protected from the financial burden of diseases and the high costs of treatment. The government is making every effort to ensure that all eligible beneficiaries possess an Ayushman Card.
Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY has successfully facilitated 6.2 crore hospital admissions worth over Rs. 79,157 crores. If the beneficiaries had sought the same treatment outside the scope of AB PM-JAY, the total cost would have been nearly twice as high, saving more than Rs. 1.25 lakh crore in out-of-pocket expenses for poor and deprived families.
