Ayushman Bharat Yojana is a pilot insurance health scheme under National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) sponsored by the central government. This ambitious scheme was first mentioned in PM Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech. PM Modi launched the scheme on September 25, 2018, across the country. 

The prime focus of Ayushman Bharat is to provide free and paperless medical insurance cover up to Rs. 5 Lakh per family per year to 10 crore poor and below poverty line households in the nation. It is told that 80% of the beneficiaries are based in rural areas and 20 % are from urban regions. Any member of the family can avail the benefit with age no bar. There will be no need to enrol, register or pay any premium to avail the benefits under AB-NHPM. The Prime Minister also clarified that the 

It is entitlement based scheme, and targets India's poor, which are identified by the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data. The beneficiary family will be allotted  AB-NHPM identification number. Under the AB Yojana, there are public/private empanelled  Hospitals that will process cashless payments. It will provide medical cover for almost all secondary and tertiary care procedures. This includes treatment for coronary bypass, knee replacements, and stenting.  

The insurance cost will be shared by the centre and the state governments in the ratio of 60:40. The Yojana will be portable, which means the beneficiary can avail the treatment in any state that has implemented the scheme.

Thirty-one states and Union Territories have agreed to implement the scheme that is believed to benefit nearly 10 crore economically backward families. But states like Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Telangana and Kerala( incidentally non-BJP government states) have turned a cold shoulder to the Centre's magna opus. Their argument being they have better health care scheme of their own. The states also took offence to the photograph of PM Modi on the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, as this is gimmick to gain political mileage for the 2019 General Elections.

UN Health Secretary has welcomed India's new healthcare plans, as this will benefit the millions underprivileged and give them better access to quality healthcare without losing their life's savings. The sheer size of the scheme benefitting will be equal to the population of US, Canada and Mexico put together.

Many have raised concerns regarding the feasibility. whereas , many others believe this will further deepen the divide between the various classes of the society. Even the Hospitals, at the moment seems unhappy as in their view, packages rates fixed by the government are loss making.  For example, the cost of a coronary artery bypass graft rates in Delhi is above 1.1 lakh and in a private hospital the same would be charged around 3 lakh proposed, the government has proposed the cost for the same CABG to be around 90,000 rupees. Also to cater to the medical needs of 500 million people hospitals need to increase their bed-capacity and staff and support staff. 

Without doubt, the benefits of this Magna opus Healthcare are huge, if implemented correctly and smoothly..