Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday inaugurated Aarogya Manthan 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, marking eight years of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) and five years of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
Organised by the National Health Authority (NHA), the event brought together senior government officials, healthcare providers, insurers, technology and digital health experts, academia, development partners and other stakeholders to deliberate on the progress of India’s health assurance and digital health ecosystem and the priorities for its next phase.
A major highlight of the event was the launch of a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening the digital foundations of India’s health assurance ecosystem.
These include the National Healthcare Providers Registry (NHPR) Mobile App, NHCX Implementation Guide for Payers, Guidebook for a Model Digital Health Facility, Secure Data Environment (SDE) application and a Framework for Auto-Adjudication of Claims under AB PM-JAY.
The Secure Data Environment, developed by the NHA with the support of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, is envisaged as a governed environment for accessing and analysing AB PM-JAY and ABDM health data.
Under the framework, approved entities will be able to work with de-identified datasets or execute code within an isolated NHA environment, with outputs reviewed before release.
According to the Health Ministry, the initiative is intended to facilitate health research, programme planning, outcome analysis and responsible AI innovation, while incorporating safeguards for protection of personal data.
Nadda said that these initiatives would further strengthen digital healthcare, facilitate the secure use of health data and create new opportunities for health research, innovation and data-driven decision-making.
AB PM-JAY crosses 60 crore beneficiaries
Highlighting the expansion of AB PM-JAY, Nadda said the scheme has covered more than 60 crore beneficiaries and facilitated over 13 crore hospital admissions, involving treatment worth more than Rs 2 lakh crore.
The Health Minister also highlighted the growth of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. According to Nadda, more than 97.8 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHAs) have been created, with over 121 crore health records linked. More than 5.6 lakh health facilities and around 11 lakh healthcare professionals are registered on the ABDM ecosystem.
The deliberations at Arogya Manthan 2026 focused on strengthening the efficiency, quality and interoperability of health services.
The event also recognised States and Union Territories for their performance under AB PM-JAY and ABDM across different categories.
Under AB PM-JAY, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Jammu & Kashmir were recognised for the highest card saturation among ASHA, Anganwadi Worker (AWW) and Anganwadi Helper (AWH) beneficiaries in the large State, small State and Union Territory categories, respectively.
Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Gujarat were recognised as the top-performing states in claim settlement for inter-State portability.
Under ABDM, Bihar, Ladakh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli were recognised as top-performing States/UTs across model districts based on district population categories.
Chandigarh, Assam and Uttar Pradesh were recognised for the highest number of sub-centres using ABDM-enabled Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) in the small State/UT, medium State/UT and large State categories, respectively.
