Cabinet Approves Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, Allots Rs 1,600 Cr Budget For 5 Yrs

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday approved the national roll-out of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) with a budget of Rs1,600 crore for 5 years. 

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in a statement said that ABDM is creating a seamless online platform through the provision of a wide range of data, information and infrastructure services, duly leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems while ensuring the security, confidentiality and privacy of health-related personal information.

Under the ABDM, citizens will be able to create their ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) numbers, to which their digital health records can be linked. This will enable the creation of longitudinal health records for individuals across various healthcare providers, and improve clinical decision making by healthcare providers, it said. 

"The mission will improve equitable access to quality healthcare by encouraging the use of technologies such as telemedicine and enabling national portability of health services," according to the CCEA.