West Bengal becomes the 36th State/UT to join Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY

The National Health Authority and West Bengal will sign an MoU to roll out the ₹5-lakh health-assurance scheme — completing near-universal coverage of states and UTs under PM-JAY.

What happened

• The Government of West Bengal is set to join Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), becoming the 36th State/Union Territory to implement the scheme.
• An MoU will be signed between the National Health Authority (NHA) — under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare — and the WB Department of Health & Family Welfare at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
• The ceremony will be presided over by Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, with Ministers of State and the Union Health Secretary present.
• AB PM-JAY provides health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation to eligible beneficiaries — the world's largest publicly funded health-assurance scheme.
• Cover is delivered through a network of empanelled public and private hospitals, with portability of benefits across states.
• Rollout is expected to extend financial protection against catastrophic health expenditure to millions of eligible beneficiaries in the state.

For Prelims

• AB PM-JAY: the world's largest publicly funded health-assurance scheme — ₹5 lakh/family/year for secondary & tertiary care to the bottom ~40% — implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA). Highest-probability fact on this card.
• NHA: the National Health Authority is the apex body implementing PM-JAY (state-level: State Health Agencies); don't confuse it with the National Health Mission or the National Medical Commission.
• The two pillars of Ayushman Bharat: (1) AB-PMJAY (insurance/assurance) and (2) Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (primary care, formerly HWCs) — PM-JAY is the hospitalisation pillar.
• Vay Vandana extension: PM-JAY now also covers all citizens aged 70+ regardless of income — a frequently-updated add-on to recall.
• '36th State/UT': implementation is state-by-state via MoU since health is a State subject (List II); a few states had stayed out — this near-completes national coverage. (Note: a couple of states still run their own parallel schemes.)
• Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE): PM-JAY's core goal is cutting catastrophic OOPE, a major cause of impoverishment; link to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the WHO frame.
• Empanelment & portability: beneficiaries can be treated cashless at empanelled public/private hospitals anywhere in India — portability is a defining design feature.
• Don't confuse: AB-PMJAY (the ₹5 lakh entitlement + Ayushman card) is distinct from ABHA (the 14-digit digital health ID under ABDM) — a recurring mix-up.

For Mains

Syllabus: GS2.13 · GS2.10 · Linkage L1