JP Nadda to Launch Ayushman Bharat Yojana in Odisha on April 11
Bhubaneswar: Union Health and Family Welfare Minister and BJP National President JP Nadda will visit Odisha next week to launch the Ayushman Bharat Yojana in the state. The scheme rollout is scheduled for April 11, following his arrival in Bhubaneswar on the night of April 10, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal informed on Thursday.
Post the launch, Nadda is also slated to address a training session with the party’s MLAs and MPs.
In a significant policy move, the Odisha government is in the final phase of integrating the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) with the state’s Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana (GJAY) — formerly known as Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY). The merged scheme, expected to be named Ayushman Bharat–Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-GJAY), will provide individual health cards to nearly 3.52 crore people across 1.08 crore families.
As per the eligibility criteria, around 67.8 lakh families will come under AB-PMJAY, while the remaining households will be covered by the state-sponsored GJAY. The Odisha government will bear the cost of treatment packages and beneficiaries not covered under the Central scheme.
To ensure smooth implementation, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been roped in to upgrade the IT interface for billing and claims management, enabling real-time monitoring and seamless hospital access.
Under the new arrangement, each beneficiary will receive an individual health card—replacing the earlier system where families were issued separate cards for male and female members. Senior citizens aged above 70 years will also be provided a dedicated card under the Ayushman Vay Vandana scheme.
