Union Health Minister J P Nadda will launch the initiatives on June 29 during the 16th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, according to an official statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
The revamped Aarogya Setu application marks the government’s attempt to transform the COVID-era contact tracing app into a comprehensive personal health management platform integrated with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
Aarogya Setu 2.0: From pandemic app to digital health gateway
Originally launched in 2020 as a COVID-19 contact tracing application, Aarogya Setu is now being repositioned as a national digital health gateway offering multiple citizen services through a single interface.
According to the Health Ministry, the upgraded platform will allow users to create and manage their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA), access and share digital health records, and use consent-based health information exchange services.
The application will also support AI-powered health insights, wearable device integration, medication reminders, family health management tools, OPD registration through Scan & Register, and hospital bill payments using Scan & Pay functionality.
In addition, users will be able to discover nearby hospitals, blood banks, ambulance services, Jan Aushadhi Kendras, and PM-JAY empanelled hospitals directly through the application.
The government said the app is designed to simplify access to healthcare services while reducing fragmentation across multiple digital platforms.
Push for integrated digital healthcare
The launch is part of the Centre’s broader effort to build interoperable digital public infrastructure for healthcare under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.
The government has focused on digitisation of healthcare records, insurance claims, and citizen access services over the past few years. Officials say the objective is to create portable, paperless, and consent-driven healthcare delivery systems across public and private institutions.
The enhanced Ayushman App, also being launched on June 29, will function as a consolidated digital platform for beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), enabling easier access to scheme-related services and benefits.
Ayushman Sarathi WhatsApp chatbot
Among the citizen-facing initiatives is “Ayushman Sarathi”, a WhatsApp-based chatbot aimed at improving accessibility for PM-JAY beneficiaries.
The conversational chatbot will allow users to access health scheme services through WhatsApp, reducing dependence on standalone applications and helping improve last-mile delivery, particularly in regions with lower digital literacy.
National health claims exchange
The government will also launch the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX), a digital public infrastructure intended to standardise health insurance claims processing across providers and payers.
The platform is expected to facilitate faster and more efficient exchange of claims information between hospitals, insurers, and government health schemes while reducing administrative burdens and paperwork.
Drug Registry and Common Standards
To support interoperability across healthcare systems, the Health Ministry will introduce a national Drug Registry and Common LOINC Codes for India (CLCI).
The Drug Registry aims to standardise medicine-related information across the healthcare ecosystem, while CLCI is being developed as an India-specific subset of global laboratory coding standards to improve consistency in diagnostic reporting and data exchange.
The standards have been developed by the National Resource Centre for EHR Standards (NRCeS).
