Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission
"India's programme to build a digital health ecosystem, giving every citizen a unique health ID and consent-based access to their records"
The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is a Government of India initiative launched nationally on 27 September 2021 to create the digital backbone of India's health system. Its core is the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA), a unique 14-digit health ID that lets citizens link, store, access and share their medical records digitally with their consent. ABDM also builds registries of doctors and health facilities and a unified interface so that different health apps and providers can exchange data securely, aiming to make care more portable, efficient and patient-centred.
Relevant for GS2 (health governance, digital public infrastructure, welfare delivery) and GS3 (technology, data privacy). ABDM is a pillar of India's digital public infrastructure alongside Aadhaar and UPI. By 2026 it had generated more than 90 crore ABHA accounts and linked over 105 crore health records, making it one of the world's largest digital health ecosystems and a strong 2026 data anchor.
- 1 Launched nationally on 27 September 2021 by the National Health Authority
- 2 ABHA is a unique 14-digit digital health ID for consent-based record sharing
- 3 Crossed 90 crore ABHA accounts in 2026; over 105 crore digital health records linked
- 4 Builds Healthcare Professionals and Health Facility Registries for a trusted directory
- 5 Uptake led by Uttar Pradesh, followed by Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Bihar
- 6 Part of India's digital public infrastructure stack alongside Aadhaar and UPI
- 7 Data privacy and consent management are central design and policy concerns
By 2026 the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission had generated more than 90 crore ABHA health accounts and linked over 105 crore health records, building one of the world's largest digital health ecosystems with Uttar Pradesh leading adoption.
