Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed happiness that one crore Ayushman cards have been issued during the ongoing Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra (VBSY) in the country.

Under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana #PMJAY, every Ayushman cardholder can get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh per annum per family in an empanelled hospital across the country.

Praising the achievement, PM Modi posted on X: “Very encouraging information! The Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra aims that benefits of our schemes should reach all my poor brothers and sisters across the country.”

Disclosing the information, Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said India has achieved a commendable landmark as 1,02,23,619 Ayushman cards have been created during the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra.

He said this was a significant milestone demonstrating strength of the country’s health infrastructure and propelling healthcare excellence in India.

Under the ongoing Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, the cumulative footfall has reached 1,31,66,365 in 79,487 Health camps conducted at 3,462 Gram Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies, till date.

Distributing Ayushman cards under the Health Ministry’s flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat — Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the VBSY vans going across the country, are creating the Ayushman cards using the Ayushman app.

The physical cards are also being distributed to the beneficiaries. Till date, more than 23,83,473 physical cards have been distributed, according to the Health and Family Welfare Ministry. A total of 6,34,168 Ayushman cards have been created at the health camps held on 21 December.

Screening of patients for tuberculosis is also being carried out at the health camps by screening for symptoms, sputum testing, and using NAAT machines wherever available. Cases suspected to have TB are referred to higher facilities. By the end of Day 36, more than 49,17,356 people have been screened out of which more than 3,41,499 were referred to higher Public Health Facilities.

Under the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (PMTBMA), consent is being taken for patients suffering from TB for receiving assistance from Nikshay Mitras. Attendees willing to be Nikshay Mitras are also being provided on-spot registration. More than 1,17,734 patients have given consent under PMTBMBA and more than 39,819 new Nikshay Mitras were registered.

Under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana (NPY), monetary assistance is provided to TB patients through Direct benefit Transfer. For this purpose, details of bank accounts of the pending beneficiaries are being collected and accounts are being Aadhaar seeded. Details of 30,093 such beneficiaries have been collected.

In another achievement in Sickle Cell Disease care, areas with predominant tribal population, the screening of eligible population (up to 40 years of age) is being done for the detection of the Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) through the Point of Care (PoC) tests for SCD or through Solubility Test.

Cases testing positive are being referred to higher centres for management. More than 5,08,701 people have been screened so far, out of which 21,793 were found to be positive and referred to higher public health facilities.

In Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), screening of eligible population (30 years and above) is being done for Hypertension and Diabetes and cases suspected to be positive are being referred to higher centres.

Around 10,297,809 people have been screened for Hypertension and Diabetes. More than 4,82,667 people were suspected to be positive for Hypertension and more than 3,45,898 were suspected to have Diabetes and more than 7,59,451 people were referred to higher public health facilities.

The Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra was launched by the Prime Minister on 15 November from Khunti, Jharkhand to achieve saturation of benefits of central government schemes across the nation. Ayushman eligibility information is available on 14555.

As a part of on-the-spot services under the VBSY, health camps are being organized at places of halt of the Information Education and Communication (IEC) vans in Gram Panchayats.