With reference to 'Ayushman Bharat Yojana' which of the following statement(s) is/are correct? 1. This Yojana provides free health insurance of Rs. five lakh per person. 2. The expenses incurred in this Scheme (Yojana) is shared between the Centre and State in 60 : 40 ratio. Select the correct answer from the codes given below. Codes:
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — (b), only statement 2. Statement 1 is wrong on one word: under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), the insurance pillar of Ayushman Bharat launched on 23 September 2018, the cover is Rs 5 lakh per FAMILY per year (a family floater with no cap on family size or age) — not Rs 5 lakh 'per person'. Statement 2 is correct: PM-JAY is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, so its cost is shared between the Centre and the general States in a 60:40 ratio (90:10 for the North-Eastern and the three Himalayan states, and fully funded by the Centre for UTs without a legislature). Hence only statement 2 holds.
- (a)1 only — Wrong — statement 1 is false. The Rs 5 lakh cover is per family per year, not per person, so statement 1 cannot be the correct one.
- (c)Both 1 and 2 — Wrong — statement 1 is false (per family, not per person). Only statement 2 (the 60:40 Centre:State sharing) is correct, so 'both' is incorrect.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Wrong — statement 2 is correct: as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, PM-JAY is funded 60:40 by Centre and general States, so it is not 'neither'.
Ayushman Bharat has two pillars — Health and Wellness Centres (now Ayushman Arogya Mandirs) for primary care, and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), the world's largest government-funded health assurance scheme. PM-JAY gives eligible poor and vulnerable families a cashless cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, so the cost is shared between the Union and the States and is administered by the National Health Authority (NHA).
The trap is the phrase 'per person'. Students who remember the headline 'Rs 5 lakh cover' tick statement 1 without noticing PM-JAY is a family floater. Statement 2's 60:40 ratio is the standard Centrally Sponsored Scheme split for general states, so it is safe to accept — leaving (b) 2 only.
- PM-JAY launched 23 Sep 2018 (Ranchi); cover is Rs 5 lakh per FAMILY per year, with no cap on family size or member age
- Centrally Sponsored Scheme: Centre:State cost-sharing is 60:40 for general states, 90:10 for NE and the three Himalayan states, 100% Centre for UTs without a legislature
- Beneficiary families are drawn from SECC 2011 deprivation/occupational criteria; implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA)
- Two pillars of Ayushman Bharat: Health & Wellness Centres (Arogya Mandirs) + PM-JAY health assurance
Answer (b): only statement 2 is correct — the cover is per family, but the 60:40 funding ratio is right.
- 'Per person' vs 'per family' — PM-JAY cover is a Rs 5 lakh family floater
- Confusing PM-JAY (insurance) with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (health records) or the Wellness Centres (primary care)
UPPSC/UPSC test scheme specifics — cover amount, Centre-State funding ratio, implementing agency and the basis for choosing beneficiaries.
With reference to Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, consider the following statements: 1. Private and public hospitals must adopt it. 2. As it aims to achieve universal health coverage, every citizen of India should be part of it ultimately. 3. It has seamless portability across the country. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(b) 3 only
Same flagship programme — Ayushman Bharat. This UPPSC item tests its insurance pillar (PM-JAY: cover amount and Centre-State funding); the UPSC item tests its digital pillar (Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission — voluntary adoption, ABHA-based nationwide portability). Together they cover both arms of Ayushman Bharat.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, the health cover of Rs 5 lakh per year is provided
- (a)per individual beneficiary
- (b)per family (family floater)
- (c)per district
- (d)per hospital admission
Answer(b) per family (family floater) — Rs 5 lakh per family per year, with no cap on family size or age.
- practice — not a real PYQ
For general (non-special-category) states, the Centre:State cost-sharing ratio of PM-JAY is
- (a)50:50
- (b)60:40
- (c)75:25
- (d)90:10
Answer(b) 60:40 — the standard Centrally Sponsored Scheme split; special-category states get 90:10.