Source: The Hindu
Context
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah on Sunday, 28 June 2026 launched the pilot project of the PM Family Care Tracker (PM-FCT) and Health Passports in Gandhinagar, Gujarat — an integrated digital platform for real-time monitoring of beneficiaries to strengthen maternal and child health, nutrition, family welfare, and education. The system tracks pregnant women, newborns, infants, children, and adolescents up to 18 years, integrating data from three Gujarat State Departments — Health, Women & Child Development (WCD), and Education via the Poshan Tracker and Child Tracking System (CTS) portals. Every mother and child gets a unique digital identity through ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account, 14-digit) + Birth Registration Number. The platform issues digital Health Passports at birth — containing hereditary disease records, treatments, immunisation up to age 18. The Minister also administered polio drops under the state’s three-day Pulse Polio campaign, distributed welfare kits + digital certificates to beneficiaries, and inaugurated the PM eBus Sewa in Gandhinagar. The pilot will be scaled pan-India in phases.
What is the PM Family Care Tracker (PM-FCT)?
- An integrated digital platform for end-to-end monitoring of family welfare beneficiaries.
- Target Group: Pregnant women, newborns, infants, children, adolescents up to 18 years.
- Focus Areas: Health, Nutrition, Education, Welfare.
What does PM-FCT track?
| Stage | Tracking |
|---|---|
| Pregnancy | Antenatal care (ANC) |
| Birth | Birth Registration Number + ABHA issuance |
| Newborn | Postnatal care, BCG immunisation |
| Infancy | Full immunisation, growth monitoring |
| Childhood | Nutrition, anganwadi enrolment, school enrolment + attendance |
| Adolescence | Adolescent health services up to age 18 |
Which 3 Gujarat departments are integrated?
| Department | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Health Department | Health records via Poshan Tracker + ABHA |
| Women + Child Development (WCD) Department | Anganwadi data, Poshan Tracker |
| Education Department | School enrolment + attendance via Child Tracking System (CTS) |
What is the Unique Digital Identity used?
- ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) — 14-digit unique health ID under ABDM.
- Birth Registration Number — issued at birth.
- Combined, they form the child’s lifetime digital identity on PM-FCT.
What are the key features?
- Digital Health Passports for families — containing medical records, hereditary diseases, treatments, immunisations up to age 18.
- Real-time dashboards for delivery of welfare schemes.
- Auto-alerts for missed vaccinations (notified to taluka + district health officers).
- Auto-alerts for school drop-outs.
- End-to-end monitoring of antenatal + postnatal care, immunisation, nutrition, growth monitoring, school enrolment + attendance, adolescent health.
What is ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account)?
- A 14-digit unique health ID under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
- Launched: 27 September 2021 by PM Modi.
- Implemented by National Health Authority (NHA).
What is the Poshan Tracker?
- An ICT-enabled application under the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
- Tracks nutritional status, anganwadi services, beneficiaries (children + pregnant + lactating women).
- Part of Mission Saksham Anganwadi & POSHAN 2.0.
What is the Child Tracking System (CTS)?
- A digital portal for tracking school enrolment + attendance under State Education Departments.
- Helps identify school drop-outs for re-engagement.
What is the Namo Shri Yojana referenced?
- Gujarat state scheme.
- Financial assistance up to ₹12,000 for eligible pregnant + lactating mothers.
- Complements central schemes like PM Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY).
What is PM eBus Sewa (also inaugurated)?
- Central scheme approved by Union Cabinet on 16 August 2023.
- Outlay: ₹57,613 crore (Central share: ₹20,000 crore over 10 years).
- Deploys 10,000 e-buses in 169 cities (priority to Tier-2/Tier-3 cities + cities with 3-40 lakh population).
- Implementing Ministry: Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
Practice MCQs
Q1. With reference to the PM Family Care Tracker (PM-FCT) launched on 28 June 2026, consider the following statements:
- The pilot project was launched by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
- PM-FCT is an integrated digital platform tracking pregnant women, newborns, infants, children, and adolescents up to 18 years.
- The platform integrates data from three Gujarat departments — Health, Women and Child Development, and Education.
- PM-FCT was launched simultaneously in all 28 states and 8 Union Territories of India.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 4 is wrong; PM-FCT was launched as a pilot project in Gandhinagar only, with plans for phased expansion — NOT simultaneously across all states/UTs.)
Q2. With reference to the unique digital identity used by PM-FCT, consider the following statements:
- PM-FCT uses ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account), a 14-digit unique health ID, as a key identifier.
- The platform also uses the Birth Registration Number to assign a unique identity to each child.
- The ABHA ID was launched on 27 September 2021 as part of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
- The ABHA ID is a 10-digit mobile-linked identifier.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 4 is wrong; the ABHA is a 14-digit unique health ID, NOT a 10-digit mobile-linked identifier.)
Q3. With reference to the key features of PM-FCT, consider the following statements:
- The platform issues digital Health Passports containing lifetime medical records of children up to age 18.
- The platform generates auto-alerts for missed vaccinations and notifies taluka and district health officers.
- The platform provides end-to-end monitoring of antenatal/postnatal care, immunisation, nutrition, growth, school enrolment, and adolescent health.
- The platform is restricted to tracking only school enrolment and excludes health and nutrition data.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 4 is wrong; the platform tracks health, nutrition, education, AND welfare in an integrated manner — NOT restricted to school enrolment only.)
Q4. With reference to the supporting digital ecosystem of PM-FCT, consider the following statements:
- The Poshan Tracker is an ICT-enabled application under the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
- The Child Tracking System (CTS) is a digital portal for tracking school enrolment and attendance under State Education Departments.
- The ABHA is implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- The Poshan Tracker is administered by the Reserve Bank of India.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 4 is wrong; the Poshan Tracker is under the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), NOT the RBI.)
Answer Key
- (c) — Statement 4 wrong: Pilot in Gandhinagar only, phased expansion planned.
- (c) — Statement 4 wrong: ABHA is 14-digit, not 10-digit.
- (c) — Statement 4 wrong: Platform integrates health + nutrition + education + welfare.
- (c) — Statement 4 wrong: Poshan Tracker under MWCD, not RBI.
