Although mobile numbers are collected for communication, they do not influence beneficiary eligibility. The report also points out the use of the same mobile number by multiple beneficiaries, attributing it to initial data entry practices.
The Comptroller and Auditor General has highlighted discrepancies in the database of the Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). These discrepancies include instances of invalid names, unrealistic dates of birth, duplicate health IDs, and implausible family sizes.
The audit report, which was presented in Parliament recently, revealed that ineligible households had been registered as beneficiaries of PMJAY and had received benefits ranging from Rs 0.12 lakh to Rs 22.44 crore under the program.
The audit report indicated that, according to records from the National Health Authority (NHA), approximately 7.87 crore beneficiary households had been registered, constituting 73 per cent of the targeted households of 10.74 crore as of November 2022.
However, the absence of adequate validation controls led to errors in the beneficiary database, encompassing issues like invalid names, unrealistic dates of birth, duplicate PMJAY IDs and exaggerated family sizes.
Sources from the Health Ministry clarified that the mobile number played no role in the verification process. The mobile number was solely collected for communication purposes and feedback regarding the treatment provided, without influencing beneficiary eligibility.
The CAG report highlighted instances where multiple beneficiaries were registered under the same mobile number. Around 7.49 lakh individuals were registered with the mobile number "9999999999" as beneficiaries. These discrepancies arose due to the initial deployment of Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Mitra, who entered random numbers in the beneficiary population to expedite the registration process.
The beneficiary identification process for Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY relies on Aadhaar identification and mandatory Aadhaar-based e-KYC. Mobile numbers are not central to the verification process or determining beneficiary eligibility.
As a result, withholding treatment from beneficiaries based on the presence or validity of a mobile number is not justified. Mobile numbers have a limited role in the AB PM-JAY treatment workflow, given that the scheme is entitlement-based rather than enrollment-based.
The use of the same mobile number by multiple beneficiaries was a result of mobile numbers not being mandatory during initial beneficiary verification. Although some random 10-digit numbers were entered by field-level workers, this did not impact the correctness of the verification process or the validity of beneficiaries' claims. Changes have been implemented in the IT portal to capture only valid mobile numbers.
The National Health Authority has introduced additional verification options, including fingerprint, iris scan, and face authentication, alongside OTP. Among these, fingerprint-based authentication is the most widely used method.
