SYLLABUS

GS-2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Context: Ayushman Vay Vandana, which extends Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) benefits to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, completed two years on 29 October 2026, recording 23.46 lakh authorised hospital admissions worth ₹5,668.80 crore.

About Ayushman Vay Vandana

• Launch: Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29 October 2024 to extend publicly funded healthcare coverage to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above.

• Implementing Agency: Implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

• Coverage: Aims to benefit approximately 6 crore senior citizens belonging to around 4.5 crore families across the country.

• Eligibility: All senior citizens aged 70 years and above are eligible, irrespective of their income or socio-economic status.

• Health Coverage: Provides coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.

• Additional Coverage: Senior citizens aged 70 years and above belonging to families already covered under AB PM-JAY receive an additional top-up cover of up to ₹5 lakh annually, exclusively for themselves, separate from the existing coverage available to family members below 70 years.

• Beneficiary Registration: Eligible senior citizens can register through the Ayushman Bharat beneficiary portal, mobile application and designated offline registration facilities, with Aadhaar-based e-KYC for identity verification.

• Nature of Benefits: Provides cashless hospitalisation at public and empanelled private hospitals across the country, with nationwide portability.

Key Achievements of Ayushman Vay Vandana

• Expansion of Healthcare Coverage: Extends coverage to approximately 6 crore senior citizens across 4.5 crore families, irrespective of income or socio-economic status, with age (70 years and above) as the eligibility criterion.

• Healthcare Utilisation: Recorded 23.46 lakh authorised hospital admissions worth ₹5,668.80 crore as of 20 October 2026.

• Major Treatment Categories: Cataract surgery accounted for the highest number of treatments (4.71 lakh; 20.1%), followed by chronic haemodialysis (2.90 lakh), while PTCA recorded the highest authorised treatment value (₹649 crore); other major treatments included knee replacement, COPD, acute febrile illness and acute kidney injury and renal failure.

• Financial Protection: Reduces out-of-pocket hospitalisation expenditure through cashless treatment, while providing an additional ₹5 lakh top-up to eligible elderly members of already covered PM-JAY families without reducing the coverage of members below 70 years.

• Healthcare Accessibility: Enables nationwide portability and cashless treatment at public and empanelled private hospitals by leveraging AB PM-JAY's existing healthcare infrastructure.

• Expansion of Geographical Coverage: West Bengal became the 36th State/UT to join AB PM-JAY in June 2026, expanding the scheme's nationwide reach.

Shortcomings and Implementation Gaps

• Biometric Authentication Challenges: Age-related deterioration of fingerprints can cause Aadhaar authentication failures, potentially excluding elderly beneficiaries where alternative authentication mechanisms are unavailable or inadequately implemented.

• Awareness and Digital Literacy: Limited awareness of eligibility, registration and benefits, coupled with low digital literacy, particularly in rural, remote and tribal areas, restricts enrolment and utilisation.

• Regional Healthcare Disparities: Unequal distribution of empanelled hospitals and specialised healthcare facilities in rural and remote regions forces some beneficiaries to travel considerable distances for treatment.

• Enrolment–Utilisation Gap: Issuance of health cards does not guarantee treatment access, as authentication failures, inadequate awareness, geographical barriers and limited healthcare facilities can prevent beneficiaries from utilising coverage.