PM Jan Arogya Yojana a game-changer, but it will face these huge challenges

Anil Swarup, who retired as Union HRD secretary earlier this year, explains the strengths of the programme and the biggest challenges it faces

There is no doubt that the Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) is the biggest effort ever by any government anywhere in the world to provide health cover. To begin with, the scheme provides assurance up to Rs 500,000 to more than 500 million beneficiaries in the country. There is no limitation of family size. This goes well beyond the cover of Rs 30,000 and family size limited to five under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) launched in 2007.

The government has also put in place an extremely competent team to implement the scheme that has the potential of