SYLLABUS

GS-2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health.

Context: The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has crossed a major milestone with over 100 crore health records linked to Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA), strengthening India’s integrated and interoperable digital healthcare ecosystem.

More on the News

• Over 100 crore health records have now been successfully linked with ABHA under ABDM, making it one of the world’s largest digital health ecosystems. 

• The number of linked records doubled from 50 crore in February 2025 to more than 100 crores within just 15 months, with nearly 10 crore records being linked every two to three months. 

• More than 450 public and private health technology solutions have integrated with the ABDM ecosystem, enabling seamless and paperless exchange of health records across healthcare facilities. 

• Major contributors to this milestone include government platforms and programmes such as CoWIN, PM-JAY, eHospital, eSushrut, eKavach, TeCHO and iHMS, along with several private digital health partners. 

• Among States, Uttar Pradesh emerged as the leading contributor with over 15 crore ABHA-linked health records, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Gujarat. 

About the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

• The ABDM was implemented by the National Health Authority under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to create the backbone for an integrated digital health infrastructure in India. 

• It was launched to develop a connected, interoperable, and citizen-centric digital healthcare ecosystem by leveraging information technology and digital public infrastructure. 

• ABDM draws its vision from the National Health Policy (NHP) 2017 and the National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB), prepared under the chairmanship of J. Satyanarayana. 

• ABDM was initially launched as a pilot project under the name National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) on 15 August 2020 in six Union Territories — Ladakh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 

• Based on the success of the pilot phase, the nationwide rollout was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 September 2021, and the mission was renamed as the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). 

• The mission seeks to bridge gaps among different stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem through digital highways and interoperable platforms. 

• Key Components of ABDM:

• ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) – Unique digital health identity for citizens. 
• Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) – Database of verified healthcare professionals. 
• Health Facility Registry (HFR) – Repository of registered healthcare facilities. 
• Health Information Exchange and Consent Manager (HIE-CM) – Enables consent-based sharing of health records. 
• Unified Health Interface (UHI) – Open network for digital health services. 
• National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX) – Facilitates digital processing of health insurance claims. 

• Objectives of ABDM:

• Establish digital health infrastructure and interoperable health data systems. 
• Create registries for healthcare professionals, health facilities, drugs and pharmacies. 
• Promote adoption of open standards in digital healthcare. 
• Enable creation of accessible personal health records based on informed consent. 
• Ensure national portability of health services. 
• Strengthen health governance, analytics, research and evidence-based policymaking. 
• Promote cooperative federalism through active participation of States and Union Territories. 
• Encourage private sector participation in digital healthcare delivery. 

Significance of ABDM

• Citizen-Centric Healthcare: Empowers citizens with ownership and consent-based control over their health data. 

• Seamless and Paperless Healthcare: Enables digital access and sharing of prescriptions, diagnostic reports and discharge summaries across healthcare providers. 

• Continuity of Care: Allows healthcare professionals to access patients’ medical history (with consent) for better diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care. 

• Strengthening Digital Public Infrastructure: Leverages India’s digital ecosystem such as Aadhaar, UPI and mobile connectivity to build an interoperable healthcare system. 

• Improved Governance and Digital Health Services: Supports evidence-based policymaking, telemedicine, faster claims processing, health analytics and medical research.

About Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA)

• ABHA is a key component of ABDM that provides every individual with a unique digital health identity. 

• It is a randomly generated 14-digit number used to uniquely identify individuals and securely link their health records across different healthcare systems. 

• Features of ABHA:

• Enables secure digital storage and sharing of health records. 
• Facilitates seamless access to prescriptions, lab reports and diagnosis records. 
• Allows interaction with verified healthcare providers and health facilities. 
• Operates on an informed consent-based framework ensuring privacy and security of personal health information. 

• Benefits of ABHA:

• Provides hassle-free and paperless access to healthcare services. 
• Ensures portability of medical records across hospitals and states. 
• Helps create longitudinal digital health records for citizens. 
• Improves efficiency, accessibility, and patient-centricity in healthcare delivery.

Sources:
PIB
Vikaspedia
India Gov
Abdmbeta
DD News
Newsonair