AB PM-JAY Completes Eight Years with Over 60 Crore Beneficiaries

25 September 2026National

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) completed eight years on 23 September 2026 with over 60 crore beneficiaries, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 September 2018 from Ranchi, Jharkhand, it is the world's largest government-funded health assurance scheme, giving Rs 5 lakh per family a year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation. As a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, funding is 60:40 with states, 90:10 for North-Eastern states, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir, and 100% central for UTs without a legislature. Coverage widened after West Bengal joined as the 36th State/UT in June 2026.

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AB PM-JAY is implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA) | Ayushman Bharat also covers Health and Wellness Centres, renamed Ayushman Arogya Mandirs | AB PM-JAY is the world's largest government-funded health assurance scheme

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