Launched on 29 October 2024, Ayushman Vay Vandana extends Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana coverage to all Indian citizens aged 70 years and above, regardless of income. Beneficiaries receive a dedicated annual health cover of ₹5 lakh per individual. Senior citizens already enrolled under AB-PMJAY get an additional top-up of ₹5 lakh. The scheme is implemented by the National Health Authority under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Ayushman Vay Vandana is a targeted extension of the flagship AB-PMJAY health insurance scheme, designed to address a critical gap: India's rapidly ageing population had no universal public health cover irrespective of economic status. Before this, AB-PMJAY covered only families below the income threshold. Vay Vandana removes the means-test criterion entirely for the 70+ age group, making it the first universally applicable health entitlement within the Ayushman Bharat architecture.

The scheme operates on a cashless, paperless model via the Ayushman app and ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) ID. Empanelled hospitals — both public and private — are obligated to provide treatment under the scheme's package rates, which is significant for financial inclusion: elderly citizens, often outside the formal workforce, face catastrophic out-of-pocket health expenditure.

From an RBI/NABARD angle, this scheme reduces household financial vulnerability among the elderly, which in turn protects rural credit portfolios — a sick elderly borrower defaulting is a well-documented rural NPA driver. From a UPSC governance angle, the scheme tests the Centre's ability to deliver cashless entitlements universally using digital health infrastructure (ABHA ID, PM-JAY portal). The '70+ age, income-independent' design is the core exam-testable distinguishing feature separating Vay Vandana from the parent PMJAY scheme.