Government Schemes★ Must Know

Centre Expands AB-PMJAY to Cover ASHA, Anganwadi Workers and Senior Citizens Aged 70+

By TestNeeti Editorial TeamPublished Tuesday, 7 July 2026 3 min readSource: CA - Health SchemesArticle 6 of 21

The Government of India has expanded the scope of the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to extend healthcare coverage to additional beneficiary groups. Under the expanded provisions, ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, Anganwadi helpers and Building and Other Construction Workers (BoCW) are now covered. With the introduction of the Ayushman Vay Vandana Card, all senior citizens aged 70 years and above — irrespective of socio-economic status — are eligible. The scheme provides cashless coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation at empanelled government and private hospitals. In the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, where AB-PMJAY was launched on 23 September 2018, nearly 89,000 beneficiaries have been identified under the SECC and NFSA categories.

Key Facts & Details

9 points

1
The Government of India has expanded AB-PMJAY to cover ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, Anganwadi helpers and Building and Other Construction Workers (BoCW).
2
Through the new Ayushman Vay Vandana Card, all senior citizens aged 70 years and above are eligible, irrespective of their socio-economic status.
3
AB-PMJAY provides cashless coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation at empanelled government and private hospitals.
4
Beneficiaries earlier covered under the ANISHI Scheme, including pensioners of the A&N Administration and families with annual income below ₹3 lakh, are now covered under AB-PMJAY.
5
In the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, nearly 89,000 beneficiaries have been identified under the SECC and NFSA (PHH & AAY) categories, where the scheme was launched on 23 September 2018.
6
The A&N Health Department has developed a module on the DHS Portal to let pending SECC and NFSA beneficiaries verify eligibility, and cards can be generated via the Ayushman App or Common Service Centres.

Deep Dive

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Eligible beneficiaries under the SECC and NFSA categories must carry their Aadhaar Card and Ration Card for card generation.
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In the Islands, about 60 to 70 patients are referred every month to empanelled hospitals on the mainland for specialised treatment under AB-PMJAY.
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The Health Department is conducting Ayushman Card generation drives and awareness campaigns across Gram Panchayats, Urban Health Centres, Primary Health Centres and Community Health Centres to maximise enrolment.

Exam Focus

Examiners may ask the coverage amount under AB-PMJAY (₹5 lakh per family per year), the new groups added (ASHA/Anganwadi/BoCW workers), the card for senior citizens aged 70+ (Ayushman Vay Vandana Card), or the launch date in the A&N Islands (23 September 2018).

Exam Relevance & Angle

AB-PMJAY is the world's largest health assurance scheme by coverage, and its ₹5 lakh family cover plus newly added groups like ASHA/Anganwadi workers and the Ayushman Vay Vandana Card for 70-plus senior citizens are frequently tested welfare-scheme facts across banking, SSC and civil-services exams.

Target Exams

SBI POSBI ClerkIBPS POIBPS ClerkSSC CGLSSC CHSLRRB NTPCUPSC CSEState PCS

Background & Context

Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) is the flagship health assurance scheme of the Government of India, launched in 2018 to provide financial protection against catastrophic health expenditure. It offers cashless secondary and tertiary hospitalisation at empanelled public and private hospitals, with eligibility historically based on deprivation criteria drawn from the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) and the National Food Security Act (NFSA). ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) and Anganwadi functionaries are grassroots community health and child-development workers under national health and ICDS programmes, while BoCW refers to workers registered under construction welfare boards. The scheme's steady expansion — adding frontline workers, senior citizens and previously separate state schemes — reflects a policy drive toward universal health coverage in India.