Lok Sabha Question No. 1224 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-06
Subject: Selection of Beneficiaries under AB-PMJAY
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Brijendra Singh Ola, Dr. Rajkumar Sangwan

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOF HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH ANDFAMILYWELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1224 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06 TH FEBRUARY, 2026

## SELECTION OF BENEFICIARIES UNDER AB-PMJAY

## †1224. DR. RAJKUMAR SANGWAN: SHRI BRIJENDRA SINGH OLA:

Will the Minister of HEALTHAND FAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) the criteria for eligibility and selection of beneficiaries under the Ayushman BharatPradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana scheme (AB-PMJAY);
- (b) the various socio-economic categories that have been included under the said scheme at present;
- (c) the total number of beneficiaries who have received free treatment under the said scheme across the country during the last three years, including the current year, State-wise especially area-wise and Lok Sabha Constituency-wise particularly in the State of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, especially in the Jhunjhunu and Baghpat Lok Sabha Constituencies;
- (d) whether the Government proposes to raise the present ceiling for free treatment from Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 20 lakh per family per year under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme;
- (e) if so, the time by which the same is likely to be implemented; and
- (f) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV)

(a) and (b): Under Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the eligibility criteria for the beneficiary families were initially identified from the SocioEconomic Caste Census (SECC) database of 2011. In January 2022, States/UTs were provided flexibility to use non-SECC, Aadhaar-seeded beneficiary family databases against the leftover unidentified SECC families. Accordingly, many States/UTs adopted databases of families with similar socio-economic profiles, such as the National Food Security Act (NFSA) database, Parivar Pechan Patra, and other State-specific databases, to cover the gap.

In March 2024, the eligibility criteria under the scheme were expanded to include 37 lakh Accredited Social Health Activists, Anganwadi Workers, Anganwadi Helpers and their families. Further, in October 2024, the government expanded AB-PMJAY to provide free treatment benefits of up to ₹5 lakh per year to approximately 6 crore senior citizens aged 70 years and above, belonging to 4.5 crore families, irrespective of their socio-economic status, through Vay Vandana cards.

## (c): The details of number of hospitals admissions authorized during the last three years including the current year are as under:

| Financial Year             |   Number of hospital admissions authorized (in crore) |
|----------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
| 2022-23                    |                                                  1.59 |
| 2023-24                    |                                                  1.98 |
| 2024-25                    |                                                  2.42 |
| 2025-26 (As on 31.12.2025) |                                                  2.04 |

The details of number of hospital admissions authorized in the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan and Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh are as under:

| Financial Year              | No. of authorized hospital admissions   | No. of authorized hospital admissions   |
|-----------------------------|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|
|                             | Jhunjhunu                               | Baghpat                                 |
| 2022-23                     | 59,602                                  | 5366                                    |
| 2023-24                     | 77,040                                  | 13,655                                  |
| 2024-25                     | 71,525                                  | 18,723                                  |
| 2025- 26 (As on 31.12.2025) | 61,705                                  | 18,654                                  |

State/UT - wise details of number of hospital admissions authorized under the scheme during the last three years are at Annexure .

(d) to (f): Currently, there is no such proposal under consideration to increase the ceiling of financial cover under the scheme.

## Annexure

## State/UT - wise details of number of hospital admissions authorized under the scheme during the last three years

| State/UT                      |   Number of hospital admissions authorized (from April 2022 to December 2025) (in lakhs) |
|-------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Andaman And Nicobar Islands   |                                                                                     0.03 |
| Andhra Pradesh                |                                                                                    70.48 |
| Arunachal Pradesh             |                                                                                     0.13 |
| Assam                         |                                                                                    16.5  |
| Bihar                         |                                                                                    24.24 |
| Chandigarh                    |                                                                                     0.73 |
| Chhattisgarh                  |                                                                                    57.82 |
| Delhi                         |                                                                                     0.2  |
| Goa                           |                                                                                     0.24 |
| Gujarat                       |                                                                                    48.37 |
| Haryana                       |                                                                                    27.44 |
| Himachal Pradesh              |                                                                                     3    |
| Jammu And Kashmir             |                                                                                    15.45 |
| Jharkhand                     |                                                                                    16.16 |
| Karnataka                     |                                                                                   114.07 |
| Kerala                        |                                                                                    39.59 |
| Ladakh                        |                                                                                     0.32 |
| Lakshadweep                   |                                                                                     0.02 |
| Madhya Pradesh                |                                                                                    56.53 |
| Maharashtra                   |                                                                                    32.74 |
| Manipur                       |                                                                                     2.52 |
| Meghalaya                     |                                                                                     8.11 |
| Mizoram                       |                                                                                     1.15 |
| Nagaland                      |                                                                                     0.99 |
| Odisha                        |                                                                                    10.45 |
| Puducherry                    |                                                                                     1.52 |
| Punjab                        |                                                                                    20.33 |
| Rajasthan                     |                                                                                    70.13 |
| Sikkim                        |                                                                                     0.35 |
| Tamil Nadu                    |                                                                                    48.78 |
| Telangana                     |                                                                                    24.1  |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli &Daman |                                                                                     0.77 |
| Tripura                       |                                                                                     4.34 |
| Uttar Pradesh                 |                                                                                    71.88 |
| Uttarakhand                   |                                                                                    13.52 |

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