Mumbai’s ABHA registration drive has recorded approximately 12,000 to 13,000 enrolments in its first 10 days, as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation works to expand access to paperless healthcare across the city. The 100-day campaign, launched on October 2, is using ASHA workers and ration shops to reach residents who may be difficult to contact through conventional registration methods.
The Ayushman Bharat Health Account, or ABHA, gives individuals a 14-digit digital health identifier through which health records can be stored and shared with authorised healthcare providers, subject to applicable consent and access arrangements. The system is intended to reduce the need for patients to carry physical medical reports when moving between hospitals or seeking treatment in different locations.
Prajakta Verma-Lavangare, additional municipal commissioner, city and health, told Mid-Day that the campaign aims to bring more citizens into the ABHA framework so their healthcare records can be accessed digitally when required. She said the objective was to make healthcare more accessible and seamless regardless of where a person seeks treatment.
The BMC is positioning the system as particularly relevant to Mumbai’s mobile population. Migrant workers and other residents who travel to their native places or relocate for employment may be able to share their medical histories with healthcare providers elsewhere through the authorised system. The arrangement is designed to help doctors access relevant records without requiring patients to repeatedly produce paper documents.
The civic body said it has trained ASHA workers to facilitate registrations at ration shops, which receive substantial public footfall. The locations are intended to improve access for residents who are away from home during regular working hours and may not be reached through door-to-door registration campaigns. The first 10 days of the drive included two holidays, according to the official cited by Mid-Day.
Verma-Lavangare said the broader aim was to build a digital health ecosystem in which registered patients would not have to repeatedly present physical records and government doctors across the country could access their medical histories through the authorised system. She also urged younger and more digitally familiar residents to register themselves and their family members.
Residents can create an ABHA account through the official ABHA portal by selecting the option to create an ABHA number. The registration process allows Aadhaar-based authentication or another available method, followed by verification of personal details. Users can then create an ABHA address and download the account card containing the 14-digit identifier.
The BMC has clarified that an ABHA account is a digital health identifier, not health insurance. Creating an account does not by itself guarantee free treatment, and it does not automatically give every doctor access to a person’s medical records. The 100-day registration campaign will continue as the civic body seeks to widen participation through its ASHA worker and ration-shop network.
