Ayushman Bharat Turns 8: PM Modi Hails Scheme as Cardholders Cross 48.51 Crore
Ayushman Bharat has expanded healthcare coverage across India, with over 48.51 crore beneficiaries now holding scheme cards.
Ayushman Bharat marks eight years as health scheme cardholders cross 48.51 crore. Ai-Generated-Image.
Ayushman Bharat: PM Narendra Modi marked eight years of Ayushman Bharat on Tuesday, saying in a post on X that the scheme now extends ₹5 lakh annual health cover to over 60 crore beneficiaries, calling it “the largest healthcare scheme in the world.” Modi said the scheme had enabled record savings on medical expenses for the poor and middle class, and that Ayushman Arogya Mandirs had recorded over 500 crore visits in strengthening primary healthcare at the grassroots level. He extended his wishes to Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries.
Separately, data released by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) put the number of Ayushman cardholders at more than 48.51 crore as of September 21, 2026, representing about 33 per cent of India’s population. By August 31, 2026, the scheme had supported around 13.25 crore hospital admissions involving treatment worth ₹2.03 lakh crore, delivered through a network of more than 38,000 empanelled public and private hospitals, PIB said.
Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) was launched on September 23, 2018, to provide cashless hospitalisation coverage for secondary and tertiary care. According to PIB, the scheme’s architecture extends beyond hospitalisation and comprises four complementary pillars: financial protection through AB PM-JAY, primary healthcare through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, digital health infrastructure through the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), and health infrastructure development through the PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM).
Also Read: IRDAI Delegates Penalty Powers To Speed up Enforcement Action Against Insurers, Agents
Ayushman Bharat: AB PM-JAY: Cashless Coverage for 1,961 Procedures
AB PM-JAY, the scheme’s financial protection pillar, provides cashless healthcare coverage for 1,961 procedures across 27 medical specialties, PIB said. Beneficiary families are identified primarily through Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 deprivation and occupational criteria, along with families previously covered under the erstwhile Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), according to PIB.
In rural areas, eligibility criteria include inadequate housing conditions, households without an adult member, certain disability-related vulnerabilities, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households, and landless households dependent on manual casual labour, PIB said. In urban areas, eligibility is linked to specified informal-sector occupational categories, including ragpickers, domestic workers, street vendors, construction workers, sanitation workers, artisans, transport workers, delivery assistants, electricians and mechanics, according to PIB.
The scheme’s coverage has expanded twice in recent years, PIB said. In March 2024, AB PM-JAY was extended to about 37 lakh families of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), Anganwadi workers and Anganwadi helpers; as of September 21, 2026, more than 44.81 lakh Ayushman cards had been issued to this group. In September 2024, coverage was further expanded to all citizens aged 70 and above — an estimated 6 crore senior citizens — under which more than 1.36 crore Ayushman Vay Vandana cards had been created as of September 21, 2026, PIB said.
Ayushman Bharat: Primary Care and Digital Health Infrastructure
Beyond hospitalisation, Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs) serve as the scheme’s primary healthcare pillar, offering maternal and child healthcare, disease screening and management, oral, eye and ENT care, mental health support, first-level emergency and trauma care, and free essential medicines and diagnostics, according to PIB. Community Health Workers and ASHAs use the centres for outreach and patient follow-up, PIB said.
PIB reported that e-Sanjeevani, the government’s telemedicine platform linked to AAMs, had facilitated more than 50 crore teleconsultations as of September 17, 2026, while the AAM network had recorded a cumulative footfall exceeding 540 crore — a figure PM Modi separately cited in his post as more than 500 crore visits.
On the digital front, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, launched in September 2021, has issued more than 97.61 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) IDs as of September 17, 2026, with more than 119.95 crore health records linked to these accounts, PIB said. The digital network additionally includes more than 5.78 lakh verified healthcare facilities and around 11 lakh registered healthcare professionals, according to PIB, alongside registries such as the Healthcare Professionals Registry, Health Facility Registry and Unified Health Interface.
Ayushman Bharat: PM-ABHIM: Building Infrastructure Behind the System
The fourth pillar, PM-ABHIM, launched on October 25, 2021, focuses on strengthening health infrastructure, disease surveillance and health research, with a budget outlay of ₹64,180 crore for the 2021–2026 period, PIB said. Planned interventions under the mission include 23,224 rural health and wellness centres across 10 high-focus states, 13,736 urban health and wellness centres nationwide, 3,389 block public health units in 11 high-focus states, 744 integrated public health laboratories across all districts, and 631 critical care hospital blocks in districts with populations exceeding 5 lakh, according to PIB.
PIB said the four pillars together are designed to address different points along the healthcare journey — from primary care and disease prevention to hospital treatment, and from physical health infrastructure to digital connectivity — with the stated aim of extending healthcare access to the last mile.
