India's Health Transformation

📌 Summary:

• PIB backgrounder on 12 years of health-system gains: 44+ crore families insured; 1.86 lakh+ primary care centres operational; 18,000+ Jan Aushadhi Kendras offering generics 50-90% cheaper

• 47 crore+ telemedicine consultations delivered; medical colleges more than doubled; 12 new AIIMS functional since 2014; traditional medicine (AYUSH) integrated into public health

• Health outcomes: maternal and child mortality down sharply since 2014; TB incidence falling; malaria mortality down 78%

• Ayushman Bharat (2018) rests on four pillars; AB-PMJAY provides Rs 5 lakh/family/year cover to ~12 crore (about 40%) poorest families; Ayushman Bharat Vay Vandana (Oct 2024) extends cover to all citizens aged 70+

• Scale: 44.14 crore Ayushman cards created; 12.03 crore hospitalisations; Rs 1,80,435 crore treatment provided; 36,218 hospitals empanelled (19,659 public, 16,559 private); 1.20 crore senior citizens enrolled under Vay Vandana (as on 5 June 2026)

• NSO 2025 survey (1.39 lakh households): free OPD in government facilities, and about half of hospitalised patients pay below Rs 1,100 — signalling lower out-of-pocket costs and renewed trust in public healthcare

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Governance & Social Justice — health policy, Universal Health Coverage, welfare schemes and equity in service delivery.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• AB-PMJAY is the world's largest publicly funded health-assurance scheme (Rs 5 lakh/family/year); Ayushman Bharat Vay Vandana covers all citizens aged 70+

• Jan Aushadhi Kendras sell generics under PMBJP; eSanjeevani is the national telemedicine service; the National Health Policy was adopted in 2017

🔑 Key Term: Universal Health Coverage (UHC) — ensuring all people can access needed quality health services without suffering financial hardship.