Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) is a healthcare scheme provided by the Indian government for its central government employees and pensioners. This scheme was launched to provide quality healthcare facilities at reasonable rates to its employees. The main objective of this scheme is to provide comprehensive medical care to all the beneficiaries and to improve the quality of medical care available to them.
Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS): Overview
Given below is an overview of the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS):
Scheme name |
Central Government Health Scheme |
Commencement year |
1954 |
Objective |
Providing comprehensive healthcare facilities to central government employees |
Beneficiaries under the scheme |
Central government employees and their families (pensioners and present employees) |
Coverage under CGHS |
Healthcare treatment through Allopathy, Homoeopathy, Indian system of medicine, |
No. of cities covered |
80 |
What is the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS)?
You should first know what is the full form of CGHS? The answer to this is that the full form of CGHS is the Central Government Health Scheme. This health insurance scheme enables medical treatment under various forms of medicine. The benefits provided under this scheme include OPD treatment and medication charges, indoor treatment, and tests at government or CGHS-affiliated hospitals, child health services, family welfare, medical advice, and distribution of AYUSH medicines.
You may obtain the CGHS application form from the Central Government's official website. Upon becoming a beneficiary, you will receive a CGHS card that will serve as proof of identification to avail of the benefits.
The eligibility for hospital wards in private hospitals affiliated with the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) insurance scheme depends on the pay scale of the concerned individual. For further details regarding ward eligibility, please refer to the table mentioned below.
Ward type |
Monthly basic pay |
General ward |
Up to Rs. 47,600 |
Semi-private ward |
Rs. 47,601 to Rs. 63,100 |
Private ward |
Above Rs. 63,101 |
Also check: ABHA card
Who are the beneficiaries under CGHS? (Central Govt. Health Scheme)
Individuals falling under the categories mentioned below are eligible to become beneficiaries of the Central Govt Health Insurance Scheme:
- Employees receiving salaries from the Central civil estimates
- Family members of beneficiaries receiving salaries from Central civil estimates
- Dependents of families residing in areas covered by the Central Govt Health Scheme
- Retired Central Government pensioners
- Members of Parliament
- Former Vice Presidents
- Former and Lieutenant Governors
- Current or retired judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court
- Employees of the post and telegraph department
- Delhi police personnel
- Freedom fighters
- Journalists from the Press Information Bureau
- Employees of the Railway Board
In which states and cities can you avail CGHS facilities?
As of 2019, CGHS is presently operational in 37 cities all over the country. A list of cities presently covered under CGHS is given below:
SI. No. |
State/UT |
City |
Allopathic |
Ayurvedic |
Homeopathic |
Unani |
Sidha |
Yoga |
1 |
Assam |
Guwahati |
5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
Andhra Pradesh |
Visakhapatnam |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
Bihar |
Patna |
5 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
Chhattisgarh |
Raipur |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
Delhi |
Delhi |
86 |
12 |
13 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
Goa |
Panaji |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
Gujarat |
Ahmedabad |
8 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Gandhinagar |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
8 |
Haryana |
Faridabad* |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Gurgaon* |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
9 |
Himachal Pradesh |
Shimla |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
Jammu & Kashmir |
Jammu |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
Jharkhand |
Ranchi |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
Karnataka |
Bengaluru |
10 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
Kerala |
Thiruvananthapuram |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
Madhya Pradesh |
Bhopal |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Jabalpur |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Indore |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
15 |
Maharashtra |
Mumbai |
26 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Nagpur |
11 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Pune |
9 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
16 |
Manipur |
Imphal |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
Meghalaya |
Shillong |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
Mizoram |
Aizawl |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
19 |
Nagaland |
Kohima |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
Odisha |
Bhuvaneshwar |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
21 |
Puducherry |
Puducherry |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
22 |
Rajasthan |
Jaipur |
7 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
23 |
Sikkim |
Gangtok |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
24 |
Tamil Nadu |
Chennai |
14 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
25 |
Telangana |
Hyderabad |
13 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
26 |
Tripura |
Agartala |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
27 |
Uttrakhand |
Dehradun |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
28 |
Uttar Pradesh |
Allahabad |
7 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Ghaziabad* |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Greater Noida* |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Indirapuram* |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Kanpur |
9 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Lucknow |
9 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
||
Noida* |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Meerut |
6 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Sahibabad* |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
29 |
West Bengal |
Kolkata |
18 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
30 |
Chandigarh (UT) |
Chandigarh |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Total |
288 |
33 |
35 |
10 |
3 |
4 |
* Please note that this information may be subject to change, and it's advisable to check for the latest updates on CGHS facilities in specific cities.
Benefits of the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS)
There are numerous benefits of being enrolled under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). Below is the list of CGHS benefits:
Comprehensive medical care:
CGHS provides comprehensive medical care facilities to its beneficiaries. It includes hospitalisation, diagnostic tests, and consultations, among others.
Affordable medical care:
The medical facilities provided under CGHS are available at reasonable rates.
Cashless service:
CGHS provides cashless service to its beneficiaries. The medical bills can be directly submitted to the concerned department for settlement.
Preventive health care benefits:
CGHS provides various preventive health care benefits such as health check-ups, immunisation, and dental care facilities, among others.
Emergency medical care:
CGHS provides emergency medical care to its beneficiaries. It includes ambulance services, 24x7 medical assistance, and critical care services, among others.
Eligibility criteria for CGHS (Central Government Health Scheme)
Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) is a health insurance scheme for central government employees and pensioners in India. To avail of the benefits of the CGHS scheme, individuals need to fulfil certain criteria. Here are the eligibility criteria for the Central Government Health Scheme:
- Central Government employees and their family members are eligible for the scheme.
- Pensioners of the central government and their family members can also enrol in the CGHS scheme.
- Individuals should be residing in the cities where CGHS facilities are available.
- The individuals should have a valid CGHS card.
By fulfilling these eligibility criteria, individuals can avail of a range of healthcare facilities at CGHS centres and empanelled hospitals across the country.