SRINAGAR: The government has eased the process for registration in GoI’s flagship health insurance scheme that offers up to Rs 5 lakh cover to a patient admitted to any healthcare institute in Jammu and Kashmir. The scheme is Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), the earlier SEHAT which was reintroduced in December as a universal health insurance for people from all economic backgrounds.
Now anyone who failed to register with the AB PM-JAY because of not being covered under the 2011 Census will be able to register within ten days, Naureen Raja, the communications officer of AB PM-JAY, told Kashmir Reader. The person has to get his/her ration card to the nearest ration depot where it will be attested by an official. Then a form has to be filled and submitted to the Chief Medical Officer’s office, where the credentials will be verified for registration.
In the earlier arrangement, anyone who was not registered under Census 2011 had to get their ration card verified from the revenue department at various levels. The process was to get an ID number from the food department, then match it with the Aadhaar and the registered list of Census 2011. If all these did not match, the verification was to be done from the revenue department. Now the person has to just submit a form and the chief health officer will verify it, within ten days, Raja said.
“The process will be done in max 10 days. This will enable all those who were uncovered by the scheme to be covered,” she said.
While the easing of the process will help many, another group of people who do not have a ration card still can’t avail the benefit of the scheme. Many families in J&K had not applied for a ration card as they were financially well off and did not need government ration. If such families wish to get the benefit of the scheme, they have to procure the ration card from the food department, which is not an easy task.
As per the Director of Food and Consumer Supplies, Kashmir, Bashir Ahmad, the applicant for a ration card has to file an application before the Tehsildar, and then go to the Tehsil Supply Officer. This will set in motion the process to get his ration card registered, he said. But how long this will take remains unknown.

Junaid Nabi Bazaz