Fri Jan 31 10:59:48 UTC 2025: **India’s Healthcare Initiatives Show Significant Progress, Says Economic Survey**
NEW DELHI, January 31, 2025 – India’s flagship health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), has yielded substantial savings and improved healthcare access, according to the Economic Survey 2024-25, tabled in Parliament today. The survey reveals over ₹1.25 lakh crore (approximately $15 billion USD) in savings due to reduced out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure.
The scheme, covering over 55 crore individuals (approximately 550 million) from the bottom 40% of the population, has issued over 36.36 crore Ayushman cards as of January 1, 2025. It offers annual hospitalisation benefits of up to ₹5 lakh per family for secondary and tertiary care, making it the world’s largest health assurance scheme.
The survey highlights a significant shift in healthcare financing, with government spending on health increasing from 29% to 48% of total health expenditure between FY15 and FY22. Concurrently, out-of-pocket expenditure decreased from 62.6% to 39.4% during the same period. This demonstrates progress towards universal health coverage and reduced financial hardship for households.
Other successful government initiatives include a free dialysis scheme benefiting 25 lakh people and the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP), achieving 93.5% full immunisation coverage in FY24. The Jan Aushadhi scheme, providing affordable medicines, also saw record sales in 2024, expanding to over 14,000 centers nationwide. Despite challenges, the scheme has significantly improved access to low-cost drugs, particularly for low-income groups. The survey concludes that these initiatives align with India’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals.
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