The move could extend health-insurance cover to an estimated 12.4 million households in the state.
Launched in 2018, the PMJAY provides annual health cover of ₹5 lakh per family for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation and is operational in 35 states and Union territories combined.
Also, the rollout is expected to benefit roughly 300,000 accredited social health activists and Anganwadi workers in the state.
This gained momentum after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his victory speech at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, announced that the scheme would be cleared in the first Cabinet meeting.
West Bengal had implemented the PMJAY between September 23, 2018, and January 10, 2019, before the government, led by outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, opted out, citing concerns over cost sharing and branding.
According to a parliamentary response dated March 20, 2026, ₹31.28 crore was released as the Centre’s share during that period while ₹785 crore has been provisioned annually for the state since the scheme’s launch.
In place of the PMJAY, the state government introduced the Swasthya Sathi scheme, which offers annual cover also for ₹5 lakh per family but without strict income-based eligibility criteria.
As a result, the state scheme covers over 24.2 million families across 2,800 hospitals, significantly higher than the PMJAY beneficiary base defined by the 2011 Socio-Economic Caste Census.
However, the PMJAY provides additional ₹5 lakh annual cover specifically for senior citizens who are above 70, an element absent in the state scheme.
But the Swasthya Sathi allows parents of both husband and wife to be included within a single family unit, widening its coverage structure.
Officials indicated the Centre might pursue a convergence model in West Bengal similar to arrangements in states such as Odisha, Maharashtra, and Punjab, where the central and state schemes operate in tandem.
For instance, the PMJAY is integrated with Odisha’s Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana through a single card system, offering ₹5 lakh coverage per family along with an additional ₹5 lakh for women members.
Similarly, Maharashtra runs the PMJAY alongside its Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, extending coverage to all state residents.
Under such models, states can include beneficiaries beyond the Centre’s eligibility list, although the additional premium is borne by the state.
These beneficiaries, however, gain access to the broader hospital network of the Ayushman Bharat, including facilities outside their home state.
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