Discuss the role of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission in achieving Universal Health Coverage in India.

Q. Discuss the role of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission in achieving Universal Health Coverage in India. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) requires that every citizen access quality care without financial hardship. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), launched nationwide in September 2021 under the National Health Authority with a Cabinet-approved outlay of Rs. 1,600 crore for five years [3], supplies the digital backbone that makes this promise administratively workable.

Enabling access and portability

• ABHA, a unique 14-digit health account, creates a longitudinal health record that follows the patient across providers, giving migrants and the poor national portability of health services [4].
• ABDM explicitly promotes telemedicine, extending specialist reach to rural and remote populations where facilities are thin [3].
• Scale is now near-universal: 94.87 crore ABHA IDs created as of 20 July 2026 [1].

Building the supply-side map

• The Health Facility Registry (5.36 lakh facilities) and Healthcare Professionals Registry (10.09 lakh professionals) create a verified national inventory [1], allowing evidence-based deployment of resources and curbing quackery.
• Interoperable, open APIs let public and private health-tech applications plug into one ecosystem, mirroring India's digital public infrastructure model.

Improving quality and reducing cost

• Over 100 crore health records are linked with ABHA [2], enabling better clinical decisions and cutting duplicate diagnostics — a direct reduction in out-of-pocket expenditure, the weakest link in India's UHC record.
• Digital records complement PM-JAY by easing claim verification and reducing leakages.

Safeguards

• Records are shared only with explicit, informed consent, and can be shared selectively rather than wholesale [4], addressing privacy concerns central to public trust.

ABDM thus converts UHC from an aspiration into a measurable, traceable system by digitally connecting patients, providers and payers. Its next test lies in deepening actual record linkage in rural facilities, strengthening data-protection compliance, and pairing digital reach with physical infrastructure under the National Health Mission. Realised fully, it advances the right to health flowing from Article 21 and India's commitment to SDG-3.

(~320 words)

Sources: 1. Update on Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, PIB (data as on 20 July 2026) — 94.87 crore ABHA IDs, 5.36 lakh HFR facilities, 10.09 lakh HPR professionals 2. 100 Crore Health Records Linked with ABHA under ABDM, PIB — over 100 crore linked health records 3. Cabinet approves implementation of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission with a budget of Rs.1,600 crore for five years, PIB — outlay, NHA as implementing agency, telemedicine and portability objectives 4. Update on the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), PIB — ABHA as 14-digit ID, longitudinal records, consent-based sharing