CAG REPORT ON PMJAY (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 - Health)

Context: The database of India’s Public Health Assurance Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), the world’s largest, has revealed several errors. This has come to light in the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report.

Key Points

• The report states that crores of rupees were spent on ineligible beneficiaries due to these discrepancies. 
• This amount has been spent on ineligible beneficiaries mainly due to insufficient verification.
• According to reports, Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Many pensioners in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu were found to have PMJAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) cards and were receiving treatment under the scheme.
• Highlighting irregularities in the registration and verification of beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has revealed that nearly 7.5 lakh beneficiaries were linked through a single cell phone number 9999 99999.
• In its audit report on Ayushman Bharat - PMJAY, tabled in the Lok Sabha, the CAG said that 7,49,820 beneficiaries of the scheme were linked to a single mobile number.
• Errors in the database of Ayushman Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana included invalid names, wrong dates of birth, duplicate health IDs and unrealistic number of family members.