New Delhi, Sep 20 : Ayushman Bharat is the world's largest publicly funded health coverage programme, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, J.P. Nadda said on Friday.

He said this while highlighting the key achievements of the Union Health Ministry in the first 100 days of the government at a press conference, in the national capital.

J.P. Nadda said that the recent announcement of expansion of the Ayushman Bharat PMJAY scheme to provide health coverage to all senior citizens, above 70 years of age, irrespective of income group, will potentially benefit around 6 crore individuals across 4.5 crore families.

The Minister informed that the expanded scheme will be implemented from October this year.

He also highlighted a significant advancement in the U-WIN Portal.

"The U-WIN portal has been developed for full digitisation of vaccination services for complete vaccination record of pregnant women and children from birth to 17 years under the Universal Immunization Programme,' Nadda said.

The portal is available in 11 regional languages including Hindi.

J.P. Nadda said that the portal is already operational on pilot basis.

"As on 16th September, 6.46 crore beneficiaries have been registered, 1.04 crore vaccination sessions have been held and 23.06 crore administered vaccine doses have been recorded on the portal," the Health Minister said.

Further, J.P. Nadda shared that medical colleges in the country increased more than 8 per cent -- from 706 in 2023-24 to 766 in 2024-25 -- and MBBS and PG seats in the country.

This would lead to an increase in the availability of doctors in the healthcare system, he said.

"There has been a 98 per cent increase in medical colleges from 387 in 2013-14 to 766 in 2024-25. During the same period, 379 new medical colleges have been established and, presently there are 766 ( 423 in government and 343 in private) medical colleges in the country'.

MBBS seats also increased by 6.30 per cent -- from 1,08,940 in 2023-24 to 1,15,812 in 2024-25.

"MBBS seats increased by 64,464 (i.e., 125 per cent) from 2013-14 (51,348 seats) to 2024-25 (11,5812 seats)."

Another significant achievement in the last 100 days is the establishment of the National Medical Register (NMR) -- a comprehensive dynamic database for all allopathic (MBBS) registered doctors in India.

NMR is linked with the Aadhaar ID of the doctors that ensures the individual's authenticity.

"NMR being a key component of the country's Ayushman Bharat digital mission, it would be part of Healthcare Professional Registry (HPR)," the Health Minister said.

He further noted that NMR will ensure provision of data covering details of around 13 lakh doctors in the country.

/IANS