UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Update on Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB PM-JAY)

Q1. In the context of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, who is a 'Pradhan Mantri Arogya Mitra'?

  • A. A district-level officer of the State Health Agency responsible for empanelling hospitals and auditing claims
  • B. A trained facilitator posted at empanelled hospitals to verify beneficiaries and assist with cashless admission
  • C. A community-level volunteer engaged to enumerate households under the Socio-Economic Caste Census
  • D. An insurance-company surveyor deputed to pre-authorise high-value tertiary care treatment packages

Q2. Consider the following statements regarding the design features of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY as announced at its launch: 1. It provides a cover of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. 2. There is no cap on family size and no upper age limit for members of a beneficiary family. 3. Pre-existing conditions are excluded from the cover for the first year of a family's enrolment. 4. The cover extends to pre-hospitalisation and post-hospitalisation expenses, including diagnostics and medicines. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It provides a cover of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.
  2. There is no cap on family size and no upper age limit for members of a beneficiary family.
  3. Pre-existing conditions are excluded from the cover for the first year of a family's enrolment.
  4. The cover extends to pre-hospitalisation and post-hospitalisation expenses, including diagnostics and medicines.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q3. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, the scheme later subsumed into the health assurance scheme now known as AB PM-JAY, covered BPL families along with how many other defined categories of workers?

  • A. 5
  • B. 8
  • C. 11
  • D. 14

Q4. Consider the following statements comparing Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY with the scheme it replaced and with the wider Ayushman Bharat mission: 1. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana was a cashless health insurance scheme for below-poverty-line families, whereas PM-JAY at its launch covered about 10.74 crore families identified from Socio-Economic Caste Census data. 2. Ayushman Bharat has two interrelated components, of which PM-JAY is the second; the first is the Ayushman Arogya Mandir, earlier known as the Health and Wellness Centre. 3. Unlike Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, PM-JAY is financed entirely by the Union Government, participating States making no financial contribution to the scheme. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana was a cashless health insurance scheme for below-poverty-line families, whereas PM-JAY at its launch covered about 10.74 crore families identified from Socio-Economic Caste Census data.
  2. Ayushman Bharat has two interrelated components, of which PM-JAY is the second; the first is the Ayushman Arogya Mandir, earlier known as the Health and Wellness Centre.
  3. Unlike Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, PM-JAY is financed entirely by the Union Government, participating States making no financial contribution to the scheme.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q5. With reference to the extension of AB PM-JAY to senior citizens aged 70 years and above, consider the following: 1. A senior citizen belonging to a family already covered under AB PM-JAY receives an additional top-up of up to ₹5 lakh per year for personal use, not shared with family members below 70 years. 2. A senior citizen covered under the Central Government Health Scheme, the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme or a Central Armed Police Forces scheme must either retain the existing scheme or opt for AB PM-JAY. 3. A senior citizen holding a private health insurance policy is barred from availing benefits under AB PM-JAY. 4. A senior citizen covered under the Employees' State Insurance scheme is eligible to avail benefits under AB PM-JAY. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. A senior citizen belonging to a family already covered under AB PM-JAY receives an additional top-up of up to ₹5 lakh per year for personal use, not shared with family members below 70 years.
  2. A senior citizen covered under the Central Government Health Scheme, the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme or a Central Armed Police Forces scheme must either retain the existing scheme or opt for AB PM-JAY.
  3. A senior citizen holding a private health insurance policy is barred from availing benefits under AB PM-JAY.
  4. A senior citizen covered under the Employees' State Insurance scheme is eligible to avail benefits under AB PM-JAY.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q6. As on 31 December 2025, approximately how many Ayushman Vay Vandana cards had been created across all States and Union Territories?

  • A. About 25 lakh
  • B. About 96.73 lakh
  • C. About 10.33 lakh
  • D. About 4.5 crore

Q7. Consider the following pairings relating to the rollout of AB PM-JAY: 1. West Bengal — the 36th State/UT to implement the scheme, completing its pan-India rollout. 2. Delhi — the 35th State/UT to implement the scheme. 3. Odisha — the 33rd State/UT to implement the scheme. 4. NITI Aayog — the body that signs the Memorandum of Understanding with a State's health department to operationalise the scheme. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. West Bengal — the 36th State/UT to implement the scheme, completing its pan-India rollout.
  2. Delhi — the 35th State/UT to implement the scheme.
  3. Odisha — the 33rd State/UT to implement the scheme.
  4. NITI Aayog — the body that signs the Memorandum of Understanding with a State's health department to operationalise the scheme.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 1, 3 and 4
  • D. 2 and 4

Q8. The 'portability' feature of AB PM-JAY, described as particularly valuable for migrant workers, means which one of the following?

  • A. A State may transfer its entire beneficiary database to another State's health agency when its workers migrate there
  • B. A beneficiary may carry the unutilised balance of the ₹5 lakh cover into the next year on changing State of residence
  • C. A beneficiary may avail cashless treatment at any empanelled hospital in the country, whichever State issued the card
  • D. A beneficiary may permanently assign the entire family cover to any one member, who alone may then use it

Q9. Under AB PM-JAY, the State Health Agency through which a State operationalises the scheme is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A district office of the National Health Authority functioning under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • B. A regulatory body constituted under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, for health cover
  • C. A permanent commission set up by NITI Aayog to oversee publicly funded health assurance within the State
  • D. An existing or newly constituted Trust or Society designated by the State Government to implement the scheme

Q10. As stated when the National Capital Territory of Delhi was onboarded to AB PM-JAY in 2025, beneficiaries have access to how many health benefit packages under the scheme?

  • A. 1,350
  • B. 1,961
  • C. 1,592
  • D. 2,704

Q11. Consider the following statements about the terms on which the last States joined AB PM-JAY: 1. Odisha adopted the scheme by converging it with its own Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana, under which women members receive an additional ₹5 lakh cover over the base family cover. 2. On adopting the scheme, Delhi added a State top-up of ₹5 lakh over and above the Central cover, taking total coverage to ₹10 lakh per family. 3. With West Bengal's entry completing the rollout, AB PM-JAY is now the only publicly funded health assurance scheme operating in any State, all parallel State schemes having necessarily been discontinued on convergence. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Odisha adopted the scheme by converging it with its own Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana, under which women members receive an additional ₹5 lakh cover over the base family cover.
  2. On adopting the scheme, Delhi added a State top-up of ₹5 lakh over and above the Central cover, taking total coverage to ₹10 lakh per family.
  3. With West Bengal's entry completing the rollout, AB PM-JAY is now the only publicly funded health assurance scheme operating in any State, all parallel State schemes having necessarily been discontinued on convergence.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q12. Consider the following statements about publicly funded health schemes in India and their relationship with AB PM-JAY: 1. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana provided cashless cover of ₹30,000 per family per annum and was subsumed into the national health protection scheme that became AB PM-JAY. 2. Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana is a State scheme of Odisha that has been converged with AB PM-JAY. 3. The Central Government Health Scheme is confined to serving Central Government employees, pensioners being outside its ambit. 4. Membership of the Employees' State Insurance scheme disqualifies a person from availing benefits under any other publicly funded health scheme. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana provided cashless cover of ₹30,000 per family per annum and was subsumed into the national health protection scheme that became AB PM-JAY.
  2. Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana is a State scheme of Odisha that has been converged with AB PM-JAY.
  3. The Central Government Health Scheme is confined to serving Central Government employees, pensioners being outside its ambit.
  4. Membership of the Employees' State Insurance scheme disqualifies a person from availing benefits under any other publicly funded health scheme.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 1, 3 and 4
  • D. 3 and 4