jp-nadda-inaugurates-aarogya-manthan-2026

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilisers JP Nadda inaugurated Aarogya Manthan 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, marking eight years of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) and five years of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

Organised by the National Health Authority (NHA), the event brought together senior government officials, healthcare providers, insurers, technology and digital health specialists, academics, development partners and other stakeholders. Discussions centred on the progress of India’s health assurance and digital health systems, along with priorities for their next phase.

 

Congratulating stakeholders on the two milestones, Nadda said the occasion offered an opportunity to review the progress achieved and renew the commitment to the welfare of poor and marginalised communities in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas.”

 

He said AB PM-JAY had expanded considerably since its launch and had become the world’s largest health assurance programme. More than 60 crore beneficiaries have been covered, while over 13 crore hospital admissions have been facilitated under the scheme, involving treatment worth more than Rs 2 lakh crore.

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The minister also referred to the expansion of AB PM-JAY to include every senior citizen aged 70 years and above, regardless of socio-economic status. He stressed the importance of portability, particularly for migrant workers, and acknowledged the contribution of State Governments, healthcare institutions and other partners in implementing the programme.

 

Nadda said the progress of AB PM-JAY and ABDM demonstrated how technology can transform healthcare. Digital systems now support authentication, authorisation and access to treatment across locations. Under ABDM, more than 97.8 crore ABHAs have been created and over 121 crore health records linked. The ecosystem also has more than 5.6 lakh registered health facilities and around 11 lakh registered healthcare professionals.

 

He further highlighted the development of the National Health Claims Exchange, which is intended to bring hospitals and insurers onto a common digital platform. The initiatives unveiled at Aarogya Manthan 2026, he said, would strengthen digital healthcare, enable secure use of health data and support research, innovation and data-driven decision-making.

 

Nadda acknowledged the work of the National Health Authority as well as State Governments, healthcare professionals, empanelled hospitals, Ayushman Mitras, ASHA and Anganwadi workers, technology partners and other stakeholders. He called for continued efforts to use digital technology to make healthcare more accessible, efficient and patient-centric, and expressed confidence that the conference would produce actionable outcomes for strengthening India’s health ecosystem.

 

Dr M Srinivas, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, congratulated the NHA and said AB PM-JAY had enabled people, especially those from economically weaker sections, to seek treatment with greater confidence and lower financial pressure. He said the next phase should give greater attention to continuity of care, quality and patient-focused services, including smooth referral systems for patients requiring specialised treatment.

 

Dr Srinivas also called for wider adoption and saturation of ABHA, along with stronger interoperability of digital health records based on citizen consent and suitable safeguards. He said high-quality, standardised and interoperable data would be essential for health research and the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare.

 

He also stressed the need to strengthen the National Health Claims Exchange, simplify claims and pre-authorisation procedures, and increase public awareness of health assurance and digital health programmes.

 

Ajay Seth, Chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), said the experience of AB PM-JAY could be used to further develop the country’s health insurance ecosystem. He highlighted the need to combine quality, affordability and access while creating value for citizens, hospitals, insurers and technology providers.

 

Seth said greater standardisation and transparency were required in health insurance. He pointed to the wider adoption of ABHA as a health insurance identity, treatment codification, standard billing formats and standard treatment protocols and guidelines. He also highlighted the role of India’s digital public infrastructure and the National Health Claims Exchange in improving interoperability and connecting the health insurance ecosystem. He said effective, affordable and good-quality healthcare for the widest possible population was within reach.

 

Dr Rajiv Bahl, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Secretary, Department of Health Research (DHR), described the eight-year journey of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY and the five-year progress of ABDM as significant milestones. He said AB PM-JAY had emerged as the world’s largest health assurance scheme, covering and benefiting more than 60 crore citizens, while future efforts would focus on improving care quality and widening coverage.

 

Highlighting the collaboration between DHR, ICMR and NHA, Dr Bahl identified treatment standardisation and cost-effectiveness as two important areas. He said standardised treatment algorithms could improve consistency and quality, noting that ICMR had developed more than 150 standard treatment workflows and guidelines. He also referred to Health Technology Assessment in India (HTAIn) under DHR, which assesses the cost-effectiveness of healthcare technologies and interventions.

 

Sunil Kumar Barnwal, CEO of NHA, congratulated stakeholders on the completion of eight years of AB PM-JAY and five years of ABDM. He said more than 49 crore Ayushman Cards and around 98 crore ABHA IDs had been generated across the country.

 

Barnwal said AB PM-JAY had produced more than 13 crore patient records, creating a valuable resource for research, development and health analytics. The Secure Data Environment would allow such data to be used responsibly while protecting patient identities. He also highlighted the Auto-Adjudication Framework, which is designed to make the AB PM-JAY claims adjudication process more streamlined and robust through technology and data-led systems.

Digital health initiatives launched

A key part of Aarogya Manthan 2026 was the launch of initiatives to reinforce the digital infrastructure supporting India’s health assurance system. These included the National Healthcare Providers Registry (NHPR) Mobile App, the NHCX Implementation Guide for Payers, the Guidebook for a Model Digital Health Facility, the Secure Data Environment (SDE) application and the Framework for Auto-Adjudication of Claims under AB PM-JAY.

 

The Secure Data Environment has been developed by NHA with support from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. It is designed as a governed system for accessing and analysing AB PM-JAY and ABDM health data. Approved entities will be able to work with de-identified data or run code within an isolated NHA environment, while outputs will be reviewed before they are released.

 

The system is intended to support health research, programme planning, outcome assessment and responsible innovation in Artificial Intelligence, with safeguards for personal data protection.

Discussions focus on claims, quality and interoperability

The conference sessions examined ways to improve the efficiency, quality and interoperability of health services. The session titled “NHCX for Streamlining Health Insurance” considered how the National Health Claims Exchange could support standardised, technology-enabled insurance processes. Discussions also covered the potential of interoperable claims infrastructure to improve efficiency, coordination and health financing.

 

Parallel sessions were held under the AB PM-JAY and ABDM tracks, covering programme implementation, healthcare delivery and digital transformation.

Under the AB PM-JAY track, “Claim Processing to Intelligent Assurance: Transforming AB PM-JAY” examined the use of technology, data and analytics to strengthen claim processing and programme integrity. Another session, “Strategic Purchasing from the Perspective of Quality and Cost-Effectiveness”, focused on improving care quality while ensuring efficient use of resources.

 

The ABDM track featured discussions on “UHI for Improving Access of Healthcare Services”, including the role of digital platforms in widening access and participation across the healthcare ecosystem. The session on “Leveraging Standards for Better Health Delivery” examined how common health-data standards could support seamless information exchange and improve continuity and quality of care.

States and Union Territories recognised

The event also recognised States and Union Territories for their performance under AB PM-JAY and ABDM in different categories.

 

Under AB PM-JAY, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Jammu & Kashmir were recognised for the highest card saturation among ASHA, Anganwadi Worker (AWW) and Anganwadi Helper (AWH) beneficiaries in the large State, small State and Union Territory categories, respectively. Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Gujarat were recognised as the top-performing States for claim settlement involving inter-State portability.

 

Under ABDM, Bihar, Ladakh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli were recognised as the top-performing States and Union Territories across model districts based on district population categories. Chandigarh, Assam and Uttar Pradesh received recognition for having the highest number of sub-centres using ABDM-enabled Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) in the small State/UT, medium State/UT and large State categories, respectively.