UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — West Bengal Set to Become the 36th State/UT to Implement Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana

Q1. Which one of the following is the nodal implementing agency for the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) at the national level?

  • A. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)
  • B. National Health Authority (NHA)
  • C. National Health Mission (NHM) Directorate
  • D. Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) Directorate General

Q2. With reference to the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), consider the following statements:

  1. It provides a cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.
  2. Eligibility under the scheme is capped at a maximum of five members per family.
  3. Benefits are portable, allowing a beneficiary to avail cashless treatment in any empanelled hospital across India.
  4. The scheme covers expenses incurred up to 3 days before and 15 days after hospitalisation, including diagnostics and medicines.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1, 3 and 4
  • C. 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q3. With reference to the identification of beneficiaries under the Ayushman Bharat — Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), which of the following statements is/are NOT correct?

  1. Beneficiary families were initially identified from the Socio Economic Caste Census, 2011.
  2. There is a cap of five members per family on the benefits available under the scheme.
  3. Rural beneficiaries are identified on the basis of occupational categories, while urban beneficiaries are identified on the basis of deprivation criteria.
  4. Citizens aged 70 years and above are eligible for cover under the scheme irrespective of their income.
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 3 and 4
  • D. 2, 3 and 4

Q4. The Ayushman Bharat — Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) is implemented at the national level by which one of the following?

  • A. National Health Mission under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • B. National Health Authority under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • C. Department of Health Research under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • D. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India

Q5. With reference to the implementation history of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), which of the following States/UTs was/were NOT among the holdouts that initially declined to sign an MoU with the National Health Authority and instead operated a parallel State-funded health assurance scheme?

  1. West Bengal
  2. Odisha
  3. National Capital Territory of Delhi
  4. Jharkhand
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • D. 4 only

Q6. Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) is operationalised at the national level exclusively by which one of the following bodies?

  • A. National Health Mission under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • B. National Health Authority, an attached office of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • C. Department of Health Research under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • D. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India under the Ministry of Finance

Q7. With reference to the Ayushman Vay Vandana Card as compared with the base Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), consider the following statements: 1. Unlike the base AB PM-JAY, whose beneficiaries are identified using the Socio Economic Caste Census 2011 deprivation criteria, the Vay Vandana Card extends cover to all persons aged 70 years and above with no income test. 2. Senior citizens aged 70 years and above belonging to a family already covered under AB PM-JAY are entitled to an additional top-up cover of Rs 5 lakh per year exclusively for themselves, which is not shared with family members below 70 years. 3. The Ayushman Vay Vandana Card was rolled out in October 2024, three years after the original launch of AB PM-JAY. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Unlike the base AB PM-JAY, whose beneficiaries are identified using the Socio Economic Caste Census 2011 deprivation criteria, the Vay Vandana Card extends cover to all persons aged 70 years and above with no income test.
  2. Senior citizens aged 70 years and above belonging to a family already covered under AB PM-JAY are entitled to an additional top-up cover of Rs 5 lakh per year exclusively for themselves, which is not shared with family members below 70 years.
  3. The Ayushman Vay Vandana Card was rolled out in October 2024, three years after the original launch of AB PM-JAY.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q8. Which one of the following is the nodal agency responsible for implementing the Ayushman Vay Vandana Card scheme for senior citizens aged 70 years and above?

  • A. Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) Directorate under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • B. National Health Authority under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • C. Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
  • D. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)

Q9. Which one of the following is the apex body of the Government of India responsible for the nationwide implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY)?

  • A. National Health Authority
  • B. Central Bureau of Health Intelligence
  • C. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India
  • D. National Medical Commission

Q10. With reference to the National Health Authority (NHA), which one of the following statements correctly describes its institutional character?

  • A. It is an attached office of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare with full functional autonomy, governed by a Governing Board chaired by the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare.
  • B. It is a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 functioning under the administrative oversight of NITI Aayog.
  • C. It is a statutory body established under the National Health Bill, 2009 to regulate public and private hospitals.
  • D. It is a constitutional body created under Article 47 of the Constitution to discharge the State's duty to raise the level of public health.

Q11. Under the Ayushman Bharat programme, which one of the following best describes an 'Ayushman Arogya Mandir'?

  • A. An empanelled tertiary-care hospital that provides cashless treatment to PM-JAY beneficiaries
  • B. An upgraded Sub-Health Centre or Primary Health Centre delivering comprehensive primary health care
  • C. A senior-citizen care facility set up for holders of the Ayushman Vay Vandana Card
  • D. A State Health Agency office that empanels private hospitals and processes insurance claims

Q12. The Ayushman Bharat programme, with its two components of Health & Wellness Centres and PM-JAY, was launched in pursuance of the recommendations of which one of the following?

  • A. National Health Policy, 2002
  • B. High Level Expert Group on Universal Health Coverage, 2011
  • C. National Health Policy, 2017
  • D. Fifteenth Finance Commission's High Level Group on the Health Sector

Q13. Following the MoU signed between the National Health Authority and the Government of NCT of Delhi for implementation of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, what is the total annual health cover per family available to Delhi beneficiaries (combining the Central scheme cover and the Delhi government's additional top-up)?

  • A. Rs. 5 lakh
  • B. Rs. 7 lakh
  • C. Rs. 10 lakh
  • D. Rs. 15 lakh

Q14. With reference to the Swasthya Sathi scheme of West Bengal and the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), consider the following statements: 1. Unlike AB PM-JAY which uses the Socio Economic Caste Census 2011 deprivation criteria to identify beneficiaries, Swasthya Sathi extends cover to all permanent residents of West Bengal without an income or deprivation eligibility test. 2. Both schemes provide secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation cover up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per annum. 3. Swasthya Sathi is jointly financed by the Union and West Bengal governments on a 60:40 cost-sharing basis, similar to AB PM-JAY in non-Himalayan States. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Unlike AB PM-JAY which uses the Socio Economic Caste Census 2011 deprivation criteria to identify beneficiaries, Swasthya Sathi extends cover to all permanent residents of West Bengal without an income or deprivation eligibility test.
  2. Both schemes provide secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation cover up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per annum.
  3. Swasthya Sathi is jointly financed by the Union and West Bengal governments on a 60:40 cost-sharing basis, similar to AB PM-JAY in non-Himalayan States.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q15. In the context of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), which one of the following best describes the 'State Health Agency' (SHA)?

  • A. The State-level nodal body responsible for empanelment of private hospitals and implementation of PM-JAY within the State/UT
  • B. An autonomous national body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that issues uniform hospital empanelment guidelines
  • C. A State-level cell of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority empanelling third-party administrators for PM-JAY claims
  • D. A statutory body under NITI Aayog that audits performance of centrally-sponsored health insurance schemes in the States

Q16. The National Health Authority (NHA), the implementing agency of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, functions as an autonomous body under which one of the following?

  • A. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • B. NITI Aayog
  • C. Ministry of Finance
  • D. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment