RAS question
Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) provides health insurance coverage of up to how much per family per year?
Correct answer: (C) ₹5 lakh.
Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana provides health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.
Explanation
AB-PMJAY is the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana component of Ayushman Bharat, launched on 23 September 2018 in Ranchi. The National Health Authority describes it as the world's largest health assurance scheme and states that it aims to provide health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. The coverage is aimed at over 12 crore poor and vulnerable families, about 55 crore beneficiaries, representing the bottom 40% of India's population. The beneficiary base is tied to SECC deprivation and occupational criteria, so the key exam fact is the annual family cover, not an individual limit.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Rs. 1 lakh is too low because the NHA-stated PM-JAY health cover is Rs. 5 lakh per family per year.
- (B) Rs. 3 lakh does not match the official PM-JAY cover, which is Rs. 5 lakh per family per year.
- (D) Rs. 10 lakh overstates the scheme because the official annual family cover under PM-JAY is Rs. 5 lakh.
Concept
This tests flagship government health schemes and welfare targeting under the social-sector part of the RAS syllabus. It recurs because RAS often asks exact scheme benefits, beneficiary base, and SECC-linked eligibility facts.