New Delhi, Sept 24: Union Health Minister J P Nadda will inaugurate Aarogya Manthan 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan here on Friday, marking eight years of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and five years of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
The event, organised by the National Health Authority (NHA), will bring together government officials, healthcare providers, insurers, technology experts, academics and other stakeholders to discuss the future of health assurance and digital healthcare in India.
Several new initiatives are expected to be launched during the event, including a National Healthcare Providers Registry mobile application, an implementation guide for the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX), a guidebook for model digital health facilities, a Secure Data Environment (SDE) application and a framework for automated adjudication of claims under AB-PMJAY.
The discussions will focus on improving health insurance processes, strengthening digital healthcare infrastructure and using technology and data to improve the delivery and quality of healthcare services.A key focus will be the NHCX, which aims to support more standardised and technology-driven processes for health insurance claims.
Sessions under the AB-PMJAY and ABDM tracks will examine intelligent claims processing, strategic purchasing, digital platforms for improving healthcare access and the use of common health-data standards.A Secure Data Environment developed by the NHA in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, will also be highlighted.
The system is designed to provide an authorised and governed environment for analysing health data from AB-PMJAY and ABDM.Under the proposed system, approved users will be able to work with de-identified data or execute code within a controlled NHA environment. Outputs will undergo review before being released.
The initiative is aimed at supporting health research, programme planning, outcome analysis and responsible artificial intelligence innovation while protecting personal information.
AB-PMJAY, launched in 2018, provides health cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for eligible secondary and tertiary hospitalisation. According to the Health Ministry, the scheme now covers more than 60 crore beneficiaries and has facilitated over 13 crore hospital admissions, involving treatments worth more than Rs 2 lakh crore.
The scheme was expanded in October 2024 to cover all citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status. The expansion is estimated to have brought around six crore additional senior citizens under the health insurance programme.
The ABDM, launched in September 2021, is aimed at creating an interconnected and citizen-focused digital health ecosystem. As of September 1, 2026, more than 97.8 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHAs) had been created, while over 121 crore health records had been linked to the ecosystem.
More than 5.6 lakh health facilities and 11 lakh healthcare professionals are also registered under the ABDM ecosystem, according to the ministry.
The mission has also been working on digital health standards and responsible use of technology and artificial intelligence in healthcare. Initiatives covering AI, open health-data platforms, laboratory coding and health terminology are intended to improve interoperability and standardisation across the digital health ecosystem.
Aarogya Manthan 2026 will also recognise states and Union Territories that have demonstrated strong performance under different categories of AB-PMJAY and ABDM.
The event is expected to provide a platform for stakeholders to review progress made in health assurance and digital health and discuss priorities for the next phase of India’s healthcare transformation.
