From Katihar, With Care: District Rockets to Third Place in Bihar’s Ayushman Card Drive

Unknown Apr 02, 2026 900 Views

In a grand push towards health coverage in Bihar, Katihar district has taken a giant leap to become the third district in the state to produce Ayushman Bharat cards, having distributed more than 80,000 cards so far under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). The feat proves the district's efforts to increase health coverage to its poor and vulnerable members and is in pursuance of the state's larger push towards universal health insurance.

Key Points Katihar has sent out over 80,000 Ayushman cards and ranks third in the card production list in Bihar.

The district-level campaign, which started on May 26, had the active involvement of 16 blocks and worked to create over 1.11 lakh cards in the first phase.
District Magistrate Manish Kumar Meena appealed to all the eligible citizens, especially the ration card holders, to avail the benefit of the scheme, which provides free health cover of up to ₹5 lakh per year per family.
Deputy Development Commissioner Amit Kumar credited the achievement to intensive ward-level mobilization, braving challenges like heavy rains to record mass enrolment.
Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme is the largest health assurance scheme in the world, which insures over 12 crore families in the nation and aims at reducing out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare.
Bihar has been at the forefront in the dispensation of Ayushman cards, with Katihar's action following the state's rapid progress in health cover.
House-to-house and special camp activities were conducted in urban and rural wards, and local functionaries and health workers were mobilized to ensure maximum coverage.
Technical problems such as server crashes and Aadhaar seeding delays were immediately resolved to avoid any eligible beneficiary being left out.
The central government, completing 11 years, emphasized the revolutionary role played by Ayushman Bharat, which saw more than 41 crore cards distributed and 8.59 crore hospitalizations arranged across the country until May 30.

Katihar's success is not only an excellent model of local administration but also a much-needed shift towards universal health care in Bihar.

Source: The Hans India, Live Hindustan, Angel One

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