Ayushman Bharat Card: How to Apply, Download, and Correct It

Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) gives eligible families cashless health cover of up to ₹5 lakh per year at government and empanelled private hospitals. A lot of confusion around it comes from one thing: it isn't open enrolment. You can't simply "apply" and get a card — eligibility is checked against an official database, and the process for getting your card depends on whether you're already in it.

Who is actually eligible?

• Rural and urban families identified as eligible under the SECC 2011 socio-economic survey.
• Households already covered under RSBY (Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana) in states where that scheme merged into PM-JAY.
• Since 2024: every senior citizen aged 70 and above qualifies regardless of income, under a separate Ayushman Vay Vandana Card.
• Some states have expanded their own version of the scheme with wider eligibility — check your state's health department page if you're unsure.

How to check eligibility and download your card

1. Go to the official beneficiary portal, mera.pmjay.gov.in, or the PM-JAY mobile app.
2. Use "Am I Eligible" and enter your mobile number, state, and either your ration card, RSBY URN, or Aadhaar.
3. If you're found eligible, complete e-KYC — Aadhaar OTP works from home; fingerprint verification needs a visit to a CSC (Common Service Centre).
4. Download your e-card straight from the portal once verified, or collect a printed card at a CSC or an empanelled hospital's Ayushman Mitra desk.

Using the card at a hospital

At any empanelled hospital, show your Ayushman card along with Aadhaar. The hospital's Ayushman Mitra desk verifies your eligibility and processes cashless admission directly — there's no separate premium, claim form, or reimbursement process for the patient to handle.

My card has wrong details — what now?

If your name, date of birth, gender, or a family member's details on the card don't match your Aadhaar, you don't need to reapply from scratch. Log in to mera.pmjay.gov.in with your registered mobile and OTP (or visit a CSC), open your beneficiary profile, and use the correction option — the corrected value should match your Aadhaar exactly, since Aadhaar is used as the reference document for verification.

• Lost your card? Just log back in and download the e-card again — it's free, no fresh documents needed.
• Adding a new family member is handled through the same portal or CSC, cross-checked against your ration card or family ID.
• Keep the acknowledgement/reference number from any correction request in case you need to check its status later.