Delhi govt launches Vaya Vandana Yojana | Latest News Delhi

All Delhi residents aged 70 and above, regardless of income, are eligible for the card. Beneficiaries can avail free treatment worth up to ₹10 lakh — ₹5 lakh from the Centre and an additional ₹5 lakh top-up from the Delhi government.

At the card distribution event at Thyagraj Stadium, attended by Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Delhi health minister Pankaj Singh, and other senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, officials announced that anyone above 70 can now register under the scheme.

Gupta said an enrollee must meet two criteria: being a Delhi resident and possessing an Aadhaar card. She added that nearly 100 hospitals are empanelled under the scheme.

“Seniors are the roots of our society, and taking care of their every need is our top priority. The country’s development is only possible when every segment of society receives respect and facilities, and the ‘Vaya Vandana’ card is a strong step in this direction,” she said.

Taking a dig at the previous administration, Gupta said the former government’s “arrogance” had delayed the scheme’s implementation for years. “Today, I want to clearly state that Delhi will now make its own decisions, and no citizen’s rights will be taken away. This government stands with its senior citizens and is fully committed to protecting their dignity and rights,” she added.

Gupta said the card will include a beneficiary’s health records, medication details, and treatment history. Cardholders will be entitled to free check-ups, medicines, and emergency care at any empanelled hospital.

Health minister Pankaj Singh said senior citizens often face challenges due to limited income and rising medical expenses. “Most insurance schemes are costly and exclude pre-existing conditions, leaving the elderly deprived of essential care. In such a situation, the Ayushman Vaya Vandana Yojana has emerged as a protective shield for them,” he said.

Officials from the State Health Agency (SHA) clarified that this scheme is an additional initiative. If a family has multiple senior citizens, each is eligible for an individual card.

Till November 2024, the PMJAY only gave coverage to people based on income coverage until Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched health insurance coverage for all citizens aged 70 and over, regardless of income, under the Ayushman Bharat initiative.

Applications can be made through the Ayushman portal or at the nearest community health centre (CHC), government dispensary, or sub-divisional magistrate office.

“The major difference is that, unlike the regular Ayushman scheme, income is not a criterion for the elderly,” an SHA official said, adding that the ₹10 lakh insurance cover is per individual, not per family.

Earlier this month, the Delhi government signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the Union health ministry: one on April 5 for implementing the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and another on April 10 for the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM). On April 10, 19 residents had received Ayushman Bharat cards. Delhi is now the 35th state or Union territory to adopt the scheme.

Under the scheme, Delhi residents can access cashless treatment for 1,961 procedures across 27 specialities, covering medicines, diagnostics, hospitalisation, ICU care, and surgeries.

On Monday, 21 men and 11 women were handed cards. Among them was Sushila Devi (84), who stood at the stadium with her 20-year-old granddaughter, Pooja. “My father isn’t well and couldn’t travel, so I came with my grandmother,” Pooja said. “Health care has always been something we put off because we simply couldn’t afford it. Now, maybe things will change,” Sushila said. However, Pooja added they had not yet been informed about which hospitals were covered or how to use the card.

Harpati Devi (86) from Tukhmirpur, east Delhi, was accompanied by ASHA worker Sudha Sharma. “I have known Harpati Devi for years; we live in the same area,” Sharma said. Nearly blind and abandoned by her sons, Harpati now lives with a daughter. “With this card, we will soon begin treatment for her eyes,” Sharma said.

While many beneficiaries expressed happiness after receiving their cards, several families admitted they were unclear about the scheme’s operational details. Surender Singh, a Karawal Nagar resident who got a card for his mother Geeta Devi (71), said, “We received the card today, but I am clueless about what to do with it. I am uneducated and don’t even know which hospitals are included.”

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) criticised the government’s move, saying it had “thrust a scam-ridden Ayushman Bharat scheme upon Delhiites.” AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said, “Beneficiaries are unable to receive proper treatment. The scheme doesn’t cover OPD services and benefits are available only after hospitalisation. Under the Kejriwal government, even OPD treatments were free.” She accused the BJP of spending lakhs on grand events to distribute “limited benefits” and called on them to learn from and adopt Delhi’s existing health model rather than “imposing a faulty scheme.”

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor criticised AAP leader Priyanka Kakkar for calling Ayushman Bharat Yojana a scam and said that the AAP is a double standard party as it opposes the scheme in Delhi but is running the same in Punjab. He said that Kakkar should answer why her party’s Punjab government is running Ayushman Bharat Yojana in the state if it is a scam.

Kapoor said that hundreds of thousands of elderly people in Delhi, especially those from the lower income group, are very happy with the launch of Ayushman Bharat card.