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

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), launched in 2018, is the Government of India's flagship health-assurance scheme and the world's largest publicly funded health-insurance programme, providing eligible poor and vulnerable families with cashless hospital care up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary treatment at empanelled public and private hospitals. It is implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA) at the central level, with State Health Agencies at the state level, and beneficiaries are identified on the basis of deprivation and occupational criteria, later expanded to cover groups such as senior citizens. Because health is a state subject and the scheme is co-funded by the Centre and states, individual states must sign on to implement it, and some had stayed out or run parallel state schemes. West Bengal's decision to join as the 36th State/UT therefore completes the geographic rollout, bringing the programme's coverage to the entire country and advancing the goal of universal health coverage.