KOLKATA — India's flagship health schemes are set for a next phase that leans harder on artificial intelligence, automated claims and data security, after the National Health Authority (NHA) wrapped up a two-day national review meeting here on November 6, the Health Ministry said in a release.

Source: Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Senior health administrators from states and Union Territories reviewed the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) — which gives eligible families health cover of Rs 5 lakh a year for hospital care — and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), which is building digital health records. The meeting ran 15 sessions on coverage, delivery, financial protection and digital adoption.

NHA Chief Executive Officer Dr Sunil Kumar Barnwal said the next phase must focus not only on expanding coverage but also on improving the quality of healthcare available to beneficiaries, according to reports of the meeting.

Source: Dainik Jagran English, reporting the review meeting

West Bengal, which joined PM-JAY as the 36th participating State/UT, was a highlight of the review. State Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Aggarwal told the meeting that since the scheme's launch in the state on August 16, 2026, about 4.2 crore beneficiaries had been enrolled and roughly 2.2 lakh people had received treatment under it.

On the technology side, officials examined the National Health Claims Exchange and auto-adjudication of claims, a demonstration of the ABDM Sandbox 2.0 with agentic AI tools, and BODH — a benchmarking platform for health AI presented by Professor Phaneendra Yalavarthy of TANUH, IISc Bengaluru — meant to test medical AI models against Indian clinical data.

The review concluded with a shared roadmap for the next phase of PM-JAY and ABDM, built on closer Centre–state coordination, secure digital systems and stronger monitoring, the ministry said.