Ayushman Bharat Transformed India’s Healthcare: JP Nadda

Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Monday declared that the flagship Ayushman Bharat–Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) has driven ‘historic development’ in India’s health sector since its inception in 2018.

Celebrating 11 years of the PM Modi-led NDA government, he said on X that transformative schemes spanning education, transport, defence and, crucially, healthcare have uplifted ‘every section of society’.

Ayushman Bharat milestones

41.02 crore Ayushman cards issued across 33 States and Union Territories.

8.59 crore hospital admissions worth ₹1.19 lakh crore covered without out-of-pocket expense.

Recognised as one of the world’s largest publicly funded health insurance programmes, the scheme ensures access to secondary and tertiary care while preventing medical debt.

Health Minister Nadda stressed that such coverage has proved pivotal in protecting vulnerable families from catastrophic health costs and in improving overall health outcomes.

Affordable medicines for all

Complementing AB-PMJAY, the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana has expanded dramatically.

The number of Jan Aushadhi Kendras, which supply low-cost generic medicines, has risen from 80 in 2014 to 16,469 today.

According to Nadda, this growth ‘brought essential medicines within reach of the common citizen’, further easing the financial burden of illness.

The Health Minister framed the scheme within a wider canvas of Modi-era welfare programmes, including Ujjwala (clean cooking gas), Awas (housing), Jan Dhan (financial inclusion), and Mudra (micro-loans).

Together, he argued, these initiatives have helped ‘crores of citizens come out of poverty and live with dignity’, accelerating India’s ascent to become the world’s fourth-largest economy.

Nadda reiterated that the government’s 11-year record is defined by ‘service, good governance and welfare of the poor’, echoing the administration’s mantra of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas.

He credited this approach with fostering inclusive growth and propelling the nation towards its ‘Developed India’ (Viksit Bharat) goal.

With Ayushman Bharat firmly embedded and Jan Aushadhi expanding, the government aims to deepen digital health initiatives and strengthen primary-care infrastructure, ensuring that universal health coverage remains central to India’s development story in the decade ahead.

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