HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Feb 11: In a significant achievement, Assam has emerged as the first state in the country to distribute more than ten million Ayushman cards under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) scheme, said state chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday.
Taking to micro-blogging site X, the chief minister Sarma expressed his pride in Assam’s accomplishment, emphasising the state’s relentless efforts towards improving healthcare accessibility.
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“Assam achieves a new milestone. Assam has taken sustained efforts to realize Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji’s goal of Universal Health Coverage,” Sarma shared on social media platform X.
He further elaborated, “We have become the 1st State to deliver more than 1cr Ayushman Cards to our people through efforts such as Viksit Bharat Yatra and Ayushman Apke Dwar Abhiyan.”
The Ayushman Bharat Yojana stands as the world’s largest health insurance initiative, extending coverage of Rs 5 lakh to eligible Indian families. With approximately 50 crore beneficiaries, it grants access to tertiary and secondary care hospitalisation, benefiting 40 per cent of impoverished and vulnerable households in India.
Eligibility is determined by the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011, categorising households in rural and urban areas based on occupational and deprivation criteria. Formerly known as the National Health Protection Scheme, it absorbed the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana of 2008, extending coverage to families not listed in the SECC 2011 database.
The scheme’s primary aim is to alleviate the financial burden of medical expenses, preventing nearly 6 crore Indians from falling into poverty annually.
Funding for this initiative is provided by the Indian Government.
