Ayushman Bharat Yojana: Odisha Signs MoU With Centre, Formally Joins Central Health Scheme

Odisha has officially become the 26th Indian state to participate in the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Yojana. On January 13, 2025, the state’s health and family welfare department signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Health Authority (NHA), marking its formal commitment in implementing the scheme in the state.

The Centre had launched this flagship scheme in 2018 under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) to provide comprehensive health coverage to beneficiaries. These beneficiaries were selected based on the socio-economic caste census (SECC) of 2011 and comprised people from the economically weaker section of society.

However, in September 2024, the Union Cabinet approved an expansion of the scheme to include all senior citizens aged 70 years and above. Subsequently, in October 2024, the government introduced Ayushman Vay Vandana Cards, enabling seniors to access the services under the scheme.

Thus, now beneficiaries under the scheme include eligible people from the SECC and seniors aged above 70 years of age.

Now, except for Delhi and West Bengal, all other states have joined the health scheme. The scheme offers a health insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh to the beneficiaries. As this is being implemented in convergence with the Odisha state government’s ‘Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana (GJAY)’, it will also provide an additional Rs 5 lakh for the women in the family.

“Today is a historic day for Odisha. AB PM-JAY is not only the world’s largest health coverage scheme, but also the fastest to be implemented since its conception. The scheme is fully digitised and covers approximately 45 per cent of India’s population,” PTI quoted Union Health Minister JP Nadda, who was present at the signing event, as saying.

The converged scheme will benefit around 10.3 million families in the state. The scheme covered more than 120 million families before expanding it to all eligible seniors and now is expected to add 60 million seniors under it.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said: “The people of Odisha, who were previously receiving treatment in around 900 empanelled hospitals, will now have access to cashless and quality treatment in more than 29,000 government and private hospitals. It will transform the health status of 86 per cent of Odisha’s population. Over 2.30 million people who are 70 years and above will get benefits of the Ayushman Bharat.”