Bureaucrats Resist Mandatory Aadhaar Link for Central Government Health Scheme

Aadhaar authentication underpins more than 3,100 Direct Benefit Transfer schemes and hundreds of public services, but the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) has escaped mandatory linkage. CGHS covers current and retired central employees, their families, MPs, judges, and accredited journalists, yet officials maintain that the scheme is contributory and not subject to the same rules as welfare programs funded from the Consolidated Fund of India.

Government memoranda since June 2015 attempted to enforce Aadhaar linking, but resistance from employees forced a withdrawal in July 2024, leaving the connection to the ABHA ID optional. Other central health schemes, such as the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme and the railway health scheme, have successfully made Aadhaar linking compulsory. Critics note that without regular verification, inactive or ineligible beneficiaries may continue to receive benefits, inflating CGHS's per-capita expenditure.