National review of Ayushman Bharat at Kolkata notes West Bengal joining PM-JAY as the 36th State

6 November 2026

The National Health Authority held a two-day National Review Meeting at Kolkata on 5 and 6 November 2026. States and Union Territories went through how two schemes are running: AB PM-JAY, the health assurance scheme, and the digital health mission ABDM. National Health Authority Chief Executive Sunil Kumar Barnwal addressed the meeting. West Bengal became the 36th State to join PM-JAY, where the scheme was launched on 16 August 2026. In that State 4.2 crore people are now enrolled, more than four crore Ayushman Cards have been made, and 2.2 lakh have taken treatment. Tamil Nadu shared its insurance and assurance models, and Tripura presented its Model Digital Health Facility Framework. The way ahead that was settled rests on closer work between the Centre and the States, systems that talk to each other safely, firmer State Anti-Fraud Units and cybersecurity audits at fixed intervals. States were also asked to build analytics and artificial intelligence teams and to use the BODH platform to benchmark health AI tools.