Odisha tops AB PM-JAY card distribution within 9 months: Health Minister

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Health Minister Dr Mukesh Mahaling on Monday assured that all issues related to the Ayushman Bharat card under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) would be resolved soon.

Mahaling made the assurance while speaking at the inauguration of a national-level Chintan Shivir on the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) in Bhubaneswar on Monday.

In his inaugural address, Mahaling further said that ABPMJAY, the outcome of the National Health Policy-2017 launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has brought a revolutionary transformation in the healthcare scenario of the country.

Within nine months of its launch, the state ranked first in distributing AB PM-JAY cards to eligible persons and fifth in issuing Ayushman Vaya Vandana Yojana (AVVY) cards for senior citizens aged 70 years and above.

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) in the state will be implemented in line with the guidelines of the National Health Authority (NHA). The two-day Chintan Shivir has been scheduled with six sessions, including five technical sessions.

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“It is now the largest universal healthcare system of world. Around 42 percent of India's bottom-level population were brought under this healthcare system,” said Mahaling, news agency IANS reported.

He also stated that the programme was launched in Odisha on April 11, 2025, and within nine months of its inauguration, the state stood first in the distribution of ABPMJAY cards to eligible persons and fifth in the generation of Ayushman Vaya Vandana Yojana (AVVY) cards for senior citizens aged 70 years and above. Mahaling further noted that in Odisha, ABPMJAY was launched in convergence with the state's own scheme, Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana (GJAY), under which each beneficiary family is entitled to cashless treatment of Rs. 5 lakh per year, with an additional provision of Rs. 5 lakh for female members of the family.

All senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their economic category, were also entitled to the same benefit under AVVY. Around 80 percent of Odisha's total population of 4.5 crore has been included under the converged scheme. The Health Minister advised participants at the Chintan Shivir to deliberate on the possibilities of including Ayurvedic and Homeopathic packages in ABPMJAY, along with allopathic packages. He informed that Odisha has started the process of implementing ABDM along with ABPMJAY.

ABDM in the state would be implemented in line with the guidelines of the National Health Authority (NHA). The two-day Chintan Shivir has been scheduled with six sessions, including five technical sessions.

In the inaugural session, three important MOUs, viz. MOU between NHA and BHASINI for multilingual access for health service, NHA and Indian Institute of Sciences for collaborative research, and NHA and National Accreditation Board of Hospitals (NABH) for upkeeping of national standards at the level of health facilities.

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