Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda to Inaugurate 'Arogya Manthan 2026' at Vigyan Bhawan

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda, will tomorrow inaugurate 'Arogya Manthan 2026' at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. Organized by the National Health Authority (NHA), the event marks the eighth anniversary of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) and the fifth anniversary of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

The program will feature thematic deliberations on various aspects of health assurance and digital health. Sessions will be held on topics including the role of the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX), the use of technology in claim processing, and the benefits of UHI and health-data standards in improving the accessibility of healthcare services.

Several new initiatives aimed at strengthening the digital health ecosystem will be launched during Arogya Manthan 2026. These include the National Healthcare Providers Registry (NHPR) mobile app, the NHCX implementation guide for payers, the Model Digital Health Facility Guidebook, the Secure Data Environment (SDE) application, and a framework for the auto-adjudication of claims under AB PM-JAY. The Secure Data Environment (SDE) was developed in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, with the objective of promoting health research and responsible AI innovation while ensuring the protection of personal data.

States and Union Territories that have demonstrated outstanding performance in the implementation of AB PM-JAY and ABDM will also be honored on this occasion.

It is noteworthy that over 60 crore beneficiaries have been covered under the AB PM-JAY scheme so far, with more than 13 crore hospitalizations provided, involving treatment costs exceeding 2 lakh crore rupees. In October 2024, the scheme was expanded to include all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, bringing approximately 6 crore additional people under its coverage.

Meanwhile, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), launched in September 2021, has expanded rapidly. As of September 1, 2026, more than 97.8 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) have been created and over 121 crore health records have been linked. More than 5.6 lakh health facilities and 11 lakh healthcare professionals are registered within this ecosystem.