Delhi govt formally rolls out Ayushman Bharat

Nineteen people — 11 women and eight men — became the first residents in Delhi to receive Ayushman Bharat cards as the Centre’s flagship health care scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), was finally rolled out in the Capital on Thursday.

The cards were distributed at Vigyan Bhawan following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Delhi government and the Union ministry of health and family welfare. The event marked the official implementation of the scheme in the Capital.

The rollout comes just days after a similar MoU was signed to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in Delhi on April 5.

To be sure, AB-PMJAY functions as a component of the broader PM-ABHIM framework, which aims to strengthen public health infrastructure nationwide.

“Health has always been a top priority for the Union government… An amount of ₹1,749 crore has been approved for Delhi to establish 1,139 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs), upgrade 11 integrated public health laboratories, and set up nine critical care blocks,” said Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta at the event.

She added that the AAMs “will be far better than the mohalla clinics constructed earlier [by the previous government] on roadsides, with no real medical infrastructure.”

Union health minister JP Nadda also called it a landmark moment. “It is a matter of pride that 3.6 million people in Delhi will benefit from AB PM-JAY,” he said.

With this, Delhi has become the 35th state or Union territory to adopt the scheme.

The programme provides ₹5 lakh in annual health coverage per family for secondary and tertiary hospital care for economically weaker sections.

Delhi health minister Pankaj Singh said the construction of the 1,139 AAMs, and other health care centres under the scheme will begin soon.

The scheme’s implementation had long been a point of contention between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-run Delhi government.

Under the scheme now being rolled out, eligible families in Delhi will receive up to ₹10 lakh in health coverage annually. This includes full coverage from the first day for all senior citizens and for pre-existing conditions.

As previously reported by HT, 46 private and 34 government hospitals in Delhi have been empanelled under the scheme. Officials said training for doctors at these hospitals would begin in two phases before April 10.

Residents covered under the scheme will be eligible for cashless treatment for 1,961 medical procedures across 27 specialities. This includes the cost of medicines, diagnostics, hospitalisation, ICU care, and surgeries.

Anusaya, 55, one of the first 19 beneficiaries to receive the card on Thursday, said she got a call the previous day informing her of the selection. A resident of Shalimar Bagh and an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker for decades, she initially dismissed the call as a scam. “Only after verifying with my seniors did I believe it,” she said.

The sole earner in her family, Anusaya said her husband’s illness has left her with a heavy financial burden. “We never went to private hospitals — they’re just too expensive. But this may change now. I’ve had severe headaches for months. A doctor asked me to get an MRI, but the wait time at government hospitals is too long, and private hospitals charge a lot. Now, I’m hoping to finally get it done.”

Another recipient, Nanno Begum, 60, from Chandni Chowk, came with her son Raja. “We’ve spent thousands going from hospital to hospital over the years for my joint pain. With this card, I can finally get treated at a private hospital without burdening my children.”

Like Anusaya and Nanno, 17 others received their cards on Thursday. But many of them said they were unsure of which hospitals were covered under the scheme. “It would be nice if someone could tell us exactly where we can go for treatment,” said Santosh Kumar, an electrician and one of the new cardholders.

Despite the fanfare, the beneficiaries’ comments revealed a lingering uncertainty—while the scheme offers much-needed relief, many are still in the dark about how to actually use it.