New Delhi [India], September 24 (ANI): Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) has completed eight years, with the scheme providing financial health security of Rs 5 lakh to more than 12 crore families, National Health Authority (NHA) CEO Dr Sunil Kumar Barnwal said.
Speaking on the occasion on Wednesday, Dr Barnwal highlighted the achievements of the scheme and said that the National Health Authority has also completed eight years of its journey since the launch of AB PM-JAY.
"Today, on 23rd September 2026, we are celebrating the completion of eight years of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. With the launch of this scheme, the National Health Authority has also completed eight years of its journey. Through this scheme, the Government of India provides financial health security of Rs 5 lakh to more than 12 crore families. With the completion of eight years, the scheme has achieved, through the NHA IT platform, the treatment of more than 13 crore patients," he said.
Dr Barnwal further underlined the role of technology in implementing the healthcare scheme and said that the NHA has developed an IT platform to manage various processes, including beneficiary authentication, registration, treatment and claim processing.
"To implement this scheme, the National Health Authority has developed a very robust IT platform on which not just beneficiary authentication, but the entire process of registration, treatment, and claim submission and processing is carried out through the IT system itself," he added.
According to an official release, "the Government of India launched the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan-Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) eight years ago on September 23, 2018, to achieve universal health coverage. It is a public health assurance scheme and covers secondary and tertiary care."
It is one of the world’s largest public healthcare schemes, with about 33% of India's population (over 48.51 crore people) already holding Ayushman cards on the scheme’s eighth launch anniversary (as of September 21, 2026).
AB-PMJAY has served people with treatment worth upto Rs. 2.03 lakh crore in about 13.25 crore hospital admissions through a network of over 38,000 empanelled public and private hospitals (as on August 31, 2026).
AB-PMJAY is one scheme under Ayushman Bharat that is promoting universal health coverage. The other schemes that are building India’s public health infrastructure are: Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs (AAM), Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM). (ANI)
Ayushman Bharat completes 8 years with health cover of Rs 5 lakh to over 12 crore families: NHA CEO
