Over 41 Crore Ayushman Cards Issued Under PM-JAY; Scheme Now Covers 6 Crore Senior Citizens
New Delhi, July 25: The government’s flagship health assurance initiative, Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), has crossed a major milestone with the creation of over 41 crore Ayushman Cards across the country, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced on Friday.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav, provided updated figures and outlined key expansions to the scheme’s beneficiary base. The scheme, originally launched to provide free hospitalization coverage to the bottom 40% of the population, has steadily broadened its reach through targeted inclusions.
Expanded Coverage to ASHAs, Anganwadi Workers, and Senior Citizens
Initially covering 10.74 crore families, the scheme was revised in January 2022 to include 12 crore families. In March 2024, the eligibility criteria were further extended to incorporate around 37 lakh grassroots health and childcare workers — including Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), Anganwadi Workers (AWWs), and Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs) — along with their families. As of July 2025, the number of Ayushman Cards created under these categories stands at:
- ASHA families: 10.45 lakh cards
- AWW families: 15.01 lakh cards
- AWH families: 15.05 lakh cards
A transformative step was taken recently by bringing 6 crore senior citizens aged 70 and above under the Ayushman Bharat umbrella, irrespective of their income or socio-economic background. These citizens will now receive health benefits through a dedicated Vay Vandana Card, adding an estimated 4.5 crore families to the scheme’s protection net.
Rs 1.4 Lakh Crore Worth of Treatment Approved
Since its launch, AB-PMJAY has facilitated more than 9.84 crore hospital admissions, with treatment costs authorized exceeding Rs 1.40 lakh crore. This unprecedented scale of healthcare provisioning reflects the scheme’s impact on reducing out-of-pocket health expenditures for vulnerable populations.
Currently, 31,466 hospitals are empaneled under the scheme nationwide, including 14,194 private hospitals, ensuring a wide network of accessible treatment centers.
As India strengthens its commitment to universal health coverage, Ayushman Bharat continues to be at the center of its efforts to provide free, cashless, and paperless healthcare to millions, especially the poor, elderly, and frontline health workers.
