Over 93 lakh Ayushman cards issued for senior citizens over age 70 issued till Dec: Govt

New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) More than 93 lakh Ayushman cards have been issued for senior citizens aged 70 and above till December under the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) scheme, the government informed the Parliament on Friday.

AB-PMJAY is a flagship scheme of the Government which provides health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to 12 crore families, constituting the economically vulnerable bottom 40 per cent of India’s population.

In October 2024, the scheme was expanded to provide free health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per year to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status.

“Till December 5, 2025, more than 93 lakh Ayushman Vay Vandana cards have been created across all States and UTs,” Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

“A total of 7.89 lakh hospital admissions amounting to Rs 1,741 crore were authorised under the Ayushman Vay Vandana category across the implementing States/ UTs,” till October 2025, he added.

The scheme covers 6 crore senior citizens of age 70 years and above belonging to 4.5 crore families, irrespective of their socio-economic status.

Further, Jadhav mentioned expansion in treatment “by inclusion of new procedures, empanelment of new hospitals, inclusion of new beneficiaries, and other improvements as per requirements from time to time”.

Earlier, the Minister noted that till October 31, “more than 42.31 crore Ayushman cards have been created under the scheme”.

“Till October 31, a total of 2.02 crore claims amounting to Rs 28,732.18 crore have been settled in the last financial year,” he added.

The Minister said that in March 2024, the eligibility criteria were expanded to include 37 lakh Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), Anganwadi Workers (AWW), Anganwadi Helpers (AWH), and their families.

“More than 41.34 lakh Ayushman cards have been created for the ASHA/AWW/AWH categories, and 89.51 lakh cards have been issued under the Ayushman Vay Vandana category for senior citizens,” Jadhav said.

–IANS

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