West Bengal became the last state in India to join the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) by signing a memorandum of understanding with the National Health Authority on Monday. This move extends cashless medical coverage of up to ₹5 lakh annually to 1.43 crore families, or approximately 6 crore individuals in the state, completing the nationwide rollout of the flagship health insurance scheme, according to livemint.com.
The memorandum of understanding was signed in New Delhi in the presence of Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda and West Bengal Chief Minister Adhikari. The state had previously not participated in the scheme during the Mamata Banerjee administration but has now aligned with the central government’s health insurance programme. This formal adoption marks the end of West Bengal's holdout and integrates its population into the national health coverage framework, livemint.com reported.
The Ayushman Bharat PMJAY scheme is India’s largest government-funded health insurance initiative, aiming to provide financial protection to vulnerable families against catastrophic health expenditures. With West Bengal's inclusion, all 36 states and Union territories are now part of the programme. This completion is significant as West Bengal has a large population that will benefit from the scheme, which offers coverage comparable to other populous states already enrolled in PMJAY, according to livemint.com.
The integration of West Bengal into PMJAY means that 1.43 crore families in the state will now have access to cashless hospitalization benefits up to ₹5 lakh annually. The National Health Authority will oversee the scheme's implementation in West Bengal, ensuring the delivery of health services under the programme. The signing took place on June 8, 2026, marking a key milestone in the scheme’s nationwide coverage.