Ayushman Bharat / PMJAY Card

Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) is the central government's health insurance scheme offering ₹5 lakh per family per year for hospital treatment — but it's important to be upfront about how it works: it is not open to everyone. Eligibility is based on families already identified in the SECC 2011 (Socio-Economic Caste Census) database, plus a few state-added categories. You can't really "apply" from scratch if your family was never on that list — what you can do is check whether you're already eligible, and if so, get your card issued.

Punjab Now Has Its Own, Wider Scheme Too

Since 2026, the Punjab government has rolled out its own universal health cover — the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana — offering ₹10 lakh per family per year, cashless, to essentially every bona fide Punjab resident, regardless of income, category, or whether they were ever on the SECC list. This runs alongside, not instead of, the central PM-JAY scheme: PM-JAY-eligible families keep their nationwide-portable central cover, while Punjab's own scheme covers residents more broadly within the state. Since state scheme rules and empanelled hospital lists are still expanding, always confirm the current details on the State Health Agency Punjab portal or pmjay.gov.in before assuming what's covered.

A Word of Caution

Both the central and state cards are issued free of cost — there have been real, reported cases of people being charged by touts for a "guaranteed" card. Punjab Saathi's fee only ever covers our help checking your eligibility and completing your paperwork correctly — never the card or the health cover itself, which the government provides at no charge.

Already have your E-Shram card? It's a separate registration, but it's often asked about alongside this one — we can help check both.

1. Check Your Eligibility — Verify using your ration card, mobile number, or family details on the official portal.
2. Complete e-KYC — If eligible, complete Aadhaar-based e-KYC verification.
3. Card Generation — Once verified, your Ayushman/PMJAY card (or Punjab's own state scheme card) is generated.
4. Download or Collect — Download your card digitally, or collect it through your nearest CSC or Sewa Kendra.

• Central PM-JAY: families already identified under the SECC 2011 database (specific rural deprivation criteria or urban occupational categories), or added via state-specific extensions.
• Punjab's state scheme: generally open to all bona fide residents of Punjab, verified with Aadhaar and a valid Punjab address/voter ID — without the SECC restriction that applies to the central scheme.
• Senior citizens aged 70+ are separately eligible for their own top-up cover under the Ayushman Vay Vandana scheme, regardless of family income.

Not sure which of these applies to you? Share your details with us and we'll check before you assume either way.