Bhubaneswar, Jan 19 (NationPress) The Health Minister of Odisha, Dr. Mukesh Mahaling, declared on Monday that all issues concerning the Ayushman Bharat card under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) will be addressed promptly.

Mahaling made this promise during the launch of a national-level Chintan Shivir focused on the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) in Bhubaneswar.

In his inaugural speech, Mahaling emphasized that the ABPMJAY, stemming from the National Health Policy-2017 initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has significantly revolutionized the healthcare landscape in India.

“This is now the largest universal healthcare system globally. Approximately 42% of the country's lowest-income population are now included in this healthcare initiative,” Mahaling noted.

He also mentioned that the initiative was introduced in Odisha on April 11, 2025, and within just nine months, the state became the leader in distributing ABPMJAY cards to eligible individuals and ranked fifth in issuing Ayushman Vaya Vandana Yojana (AVVY) cards for senior citizens aged 70 and above. Mahaling further highlighted that in Odisha, the ABPMJAY was launched alongside the state’s own scheme, Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana (GJAY), which provides each beneficiary family with cashless treatment up to Rs. 5 lakh annually, with an additional Rs. 5 lakh for female family members.

All senior citizens aged 70 and above, regardless of their economic status, will also receive the same benefits under the AVVY scheme. About 80% of Odisha’s total population of 4.5 crore has been incorporated into the converged scheme. The Health Minister encouraged participants at the Chintan Shivir to explore the potential for integrating Ayurvedic and Homeopathic treatment packages into the ABPMJAY, alongside the existing allopathic packages. He also informed that Odisha has commenced the implementation of ABDM in conjunction with ABPMJAY.

The ABDM rollout in the state will adhere to the standards set by the National Health Authority (NHA). The two-day Chintan Shivir includes six sessions, with five dedicated to technical discussions.

During the inaugural session, three crucial MOUs were signed: one between the NHA and BHASINI for multilingual health service access, another between the NHA and the Indian Institute of Sciences for collaborative research, and a third between the NHA and the National Accreditation Board of Hospitals (NABH) to maintain national health facility standards.