Scheme Primer
Health & Nutrition
ngo-practitioners
Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana (GJAY) — Odisha's Universal Health Cover for 1.03 Crore Families
Last verified: May 2026 · 6 min read · JaBaSu Knowledge Commons
At a Glance
| Parameter |
Detail |
| Full Name |
Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana (GJAY) |
| Previous Name |
Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) — renamed by current BJP government |
| Launched (current form) |
2024, by the Government of Odisha (BJP) |
| Integrated with |
Ayushman Bharat – PM Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), from February 2025 |
| Nodal Department |
Health and Family Welfare Department, Odisha |
| Status |
Active |
| Official Portal |
gjay.odisha.gov.in |
| Beneficiaries |
Approximately 1.03 crore families in Odisha |
| Budget |
Rs. 5,450 crore (state allocation) + Central PM-JAY funds |
Important for NGOs: GJAY is the current operational name. The scheme was known as BSKY (Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana) until the BJP government renamed it in 2024. Existing BSKY smart cards remain valid under GJAY — beneficiaries do not need to reapply. The scheme was further integrated with Ayushman Bharat in April 2025, expanding the hospital network.
Who Is Eligible?
Automatic eligibility (no separate application needed)
- All families covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) ration card
- All families covered under the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS) ration card
- Families previously enrolled under BSKY — existing cards remain valid
Who is NOT covered under private hospital cashless (Layer 2)
- Families above the income threshold without NFSA/SFSS cards
- Income taxpayers
- Government employees and their dependents (who have separate health coverage)
What Is It?
Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana is Odisha's state health assurance scheme — renamed from Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) by the current Mohan Majhi-led BJP government in 2024, and integrated with the national Ayushman Bharat – PM Jan Arogya Yojana in February 2025. The scheme is named after Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das, the revered Odia freedom fighter and social reformer.
The scheme provides cashless health coverage to eligible families in both government hospitals (free for all) and empanelled private hospitals (subject to card eligibility). It addresses the single largest cause of household debt in rural Odisha — catastrophic health expenditure from hospitalisation.
Two-layer structure:
- Layer 1 — Government hospitals: All residents of Odisha receive free treatment at government health facilities, regardless of income or card status.
- Layer 2 — Private hospitals: Cashless treatment at empanelled private hospitals, within and outside Odisha, for cardholders.
Coverage and Benefits
Coverage amount:
- Rs. 5 lakh per family per year (family floater basis) for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation
- Additional Rs. 5 lakh for women members — making total potential annual coverage Rs. 10 lakh for families with women beneficiaries
- Critical illness coverage at premier national hospitals including Tata Memorial, CMC Vellore, and Narayana Hrudayalaya
- Rs. 2,000 conveyance support for patients referred to hospitals outside Odisha
- Annual income limit for cancer, heart, and kidney disease treatment: Rs. 3 lakh (above which the family is still covered if otherwise eligible)
Services covered: Registration, OPD consultation, diagnostics, inpatient treatment, surgery, ICU, post-operative follow-up. The complete package list is available at gjay.odisha.gov.in.
GJAY in numbers (from official dashboard):
- 7,34,521 cataract surgery claims processed
- 5,19,779 dialysis claims processed
- 2,88,968 oncology (cancer) claims processed
- 3,98,976 obstetrics and gynaecology claims processed
- 1,32,485 cardio-thoracic and vascular surgery claims processed
These numbers — drawn directly from the GJAY dashboard — reflect the scale of health coverage that was previously unavailable or unaffordable to the families now accessing it.
How to Access Benefits
Step 1 — Check card status: Existing BSKY cardholders are automatically covered under GJAY. Check at gjay.odisha.gov.in or present your BSKY card at any empanelled hospital.
Step 2 — For new applicants (NFSA/SFSS families without an existing card): Visit the nearest Mo Seva Kendra or Common Service Centre with your NFSA/SFSS ration card to collect or issue a GJAY smart card.
Step 3 — At the hospital: Present your GJAY or BSKY card (or Ayushman card if PM-JAY integrated) at the empanelled hospital's help desk. Treatment is cashless — no advance payment is required. In emergencies, the card can be submitted within 72 hours of hospitalisation.
Empanelled hospitals: The list is available at gjay.odisha.gov.in/empanelledhospital. The integration with Ayushman Bharat from February 2025 significantly expanded the network — hospitals listed under PM-JAY are now also accessible to GJAY beneficiaries.
What NGOs Need to Know — the Practical Reality
1
The BSKY-to-GJAY transition confusion is ongoing. Many beneficiaries still refer to BSKY and are uncertain whether their card works. The answer is yes — existing BSKY cards remain valid. NGOs can reduce confusion by proactively communicating this in communities.
2
The PM-JAY integration changed the hospital network. Since April 2025, GJAY beneficiaries can access all Ayushman Bharat-empanelled hospitals. This dramatically expands the usable hospital network — particularly for specialist care. However, some hospitals that previously accepted BSKY have reported implementation gaps in the transition. NGOs should advise beneficiaries to verify hospital empanelment before travel.
3
Women's additional Rs. 5 lakh coverage is underutilised. The additional Rs. 5 lakh for women members — making total potential coverage Rs. 10 lakh for families with women — is not widely known in communities. This matters enormously for obstetric emergencies, gynaecological conditions, and cancer. NGOs can focus awareness specifically on this provision.
4
The Surendra Sai Dibya Drusti Yojana is a companion scheme. The current government launched the Surendra Sai Dibya Drusti Yojana alongside GJAY — providing free cataract surgery, eye check-ups, and power glasses for those who need them, with Rs. 45 crore allocated in 2024-25. This is separate from the GJAY eye surgery coverage and extends to a wider population.
5
PVTG communities need facilitated access. For Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group communities — Bonda, Didayi, Chuktia Bhunjia, Dongria Kondh, and others — who are all automatically eligible under PM-JANMAN coverage, a GJAY-linked camp approach that brings the card issuance process to the community is the only realistic access pathway. NGOs working in these areas should coordinate with block health officers to arrange this.
How JaBaSu Helps NGOs Connect Their Communities
Community health entitlement camps
JaBaSu coordinates with CHOs (Community Health Officers), ANMs, ASHAs, and Mo Seva Kendra operators to organise GJAY card issuance and verification camps in underserved areas. A single well-organised camp can cover an entire gram panchayat in one day.
Hospital linkage for referral cases
When communities face medical emergencies requiring tertiary care — cancer, cardiac conditions, renal failure — the practical challenge is knowing which empanelled hospital in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, or Berhampur to approach, and how to navigate the admission process. JaBaSu maintains a current list of GJAY-empanelled tertiary hospitals and can guide NGO field staff through the referral pathway for their community members.
Grievance escalation
When eligible families are denied cashless treatment at empanelled hospitals — a documented issue during the BSKY-to-GJAY transition — JaBaSu can formally escalate to the GJAY district nodal officer and the CDMO. Individual NGOs rarely have the institutional standing to do this effectively.
NHM convergence
JaBaSu connects NGOs' ASHA-related programming with GJAY's maternal health provisions — particularly the obstetrics and gynaecology coverage that can be accessed for safe institutional deliveries in private empanelled hospitals, reducing the maternal mortality risk that persists in areas far from government facilities.
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