Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Parliamentary Affairs and Electronics & Information Technology, Dr Mukesh Mahaling, today inaugurated the two-day National Level Chintan Shivir on Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (ABPMJAY) and Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) at Swosti Premium in Bhubaneswar.
In his inaugural address, Dr Mahaling described ABPMJAY as a revolutionary transformation in India’s healthcare landscape, calling it the world’s largest universal healthcare system. Launched as an outcome of the National Health Policy-2017 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the scheme now covers around 42 per cent of the country’s most vulnerable population.
Highlighting Odisha’s performance, the Minister said the state, which rolled out ABPMJAY on April 11, 2025, has secured the first position nationally in the distribution of ABPMJAY cards to eligible beneficiaries within just nine months. Odisha also ranks fifth in the generation of Ayushman Vaya Vandana Yojana (AVVY) cards for senior citizens aged 70 and above.
The state has converged ABPMJAY with its own Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana (GJAY), offering every beneficiary family cashless treatment up to ₹5 lakh per year, with an additional ₹5 lakh exclusively for women members. All senior citizens above 70 years, irrespective of income, are covered under AVVY with the same benefits. Approximately 80 per cent of Odisha’s 4.5 crore population is now protected under the converged scheme.
Dr Mahaling urged participants to explore the inclusion of Ayurvedic and Homoeopathic treatment packages in ABPMJAY alongside allopathic care. He also informed that Odisha has initiated the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) in line with National Health Authority (NHA) guidelines.
In the keynote address, NHA Chief Executive Officer Dr Sunil Kumar Barnwal emphasised the integrated digital architecture of ABPMJAY and ABDM, which allows seamless onboarding of similar service systems and maintains uniform national standards. He highlighted that the large database generated through ABDM will prove invaluable for disease mapping, surveillance, and preventive healthcare, while assuring the highest levels of data privacy, trust and security.
The inaugural session witnessed the signing of three significant MoUs: between NHA and Bhashini for multilingual health service access, NHA and Indian Institute of Science for collaborative research, and NHA and National Accreditation Board for Hospitals (NABH) for maintaining quality standards in health facilities.
The two-day event includes six sessions, five of them technical, covering the progress of ABPMJAY across states, Ayushman App, online card creation modules, ABDM action plans, e-Shusrut@Clinic, drug registry, fraud prevention systems and related topics.
Secretary, Health & Family Welfare, Odisha, Aswathy S. delivered the welcome address. The programme saw participation from Principal Secretaries of Rajasthan and Meghalaya, NHA Financial Advisor, ABDM Managing Director and 119 delegates and senior officers from 27 states and 7 Union Territories. The event is being coordinated by Mission Director, NHM Odisha and CEO, State Health Assurance Society, Dr Brudha D.
