30-Nov-2021: Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission

In the Budget speech of FY 21-22, ‘Prime Minister Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana’ (PMASBY) scheme which has now renamed PM – Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) was announced on 1st February, 2021, with an outlay of about Rs. 64,180 Cr over six years (till FY 25-26). The Scheme was approved by the Cabinet in its meeting held on 15th September, 2021.This scheme is in addition to the National Health Mission.

The measures under the scheme focus on developing capacities of health systems and institutions across the continuum of care at all levels viz. primary, secondary and tertiary and on preparing health systems in responding effectively to the current and future pandemics/disasters.

The Mission targets to build an IT enabled disease surveillance system by developing a network of surveillance laboratories at block, district, regional and national levels, in Metropolitan areas & strengthening health units at the Points of Entry, for effectively detecting, investigating, preventing, and combating Public Health Emergencies and Disease Outbreaks.

Increased investments are also targeted in the mission to support research on COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, including biomedical research to generate evidence to inform short-term and medium-term response to COVID-19 like pandemics and to develop core capacity to deliver the One Health Approach to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks in animals and humans.

The components of the PM-ABHIM scheme are:

Centrally Sponsored Components:

1. Support for 17,788 rural Health and Wellness Centres in 10 High Focus States.
2. Establishing 11,024 urban Health and Wellness Centres in all the States.
3. 3382 Block Public Health Units in 11 High Focus states. Support for other States/UTs under XV Finance Commission Health Sector Grants and NHM.
4. Setting up of Integrated Public Health Labs in all districts.
5. Establishing Critical Care Hospital Blocks in all districts with population more than 5 lakhs.

Central Sector Components

1. 12 Central Institutions as training and mentoring sites with 150 bedded Critical Care Hospital Blocks;
2. Strengthening of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), 5 New Regional NCDCs and 20 metropolitan health surveillance units;
3. Expansion of the Integrated Health Information Portal to all States/UTs to connect all public health labs;
4. Operationalisation of 17 new Public Health Units and strengthening of 33 existing Public Health Units at Points of Entry, that is at 32 Airports, 11 Seaports and 7 land crossings;
5. Setting up of 15 Health Emergency Operation Centres and 2 container based mobile hospitals; and
6. Setting up of a national institution for One Health, 4 New National Institutes for Virology, a Regional Research Platform for WHO South East Asia Region and 9 Bio-Safety Level III laboratories.

The National Health Mission is envisaged to establish a fully functional, community owned, decentralized health delivery system with inter-sectoral convergence at all levels. NHM aims to provide universal access to equitable, affordable and quality health care mainly focusing on primary and secondary care. However, PM-ABHIM is the largest pan-India scheme for strengthening healthcare infrastructure across the country which focuses on the primary, secondary and tertiary care services. The major aim of PM-ABHIM to establish a health system which is responding effectively to the future pandemics/disasters.

Under the Centrally sponsored scheme component, it is envisaged that Critical Care Hospitals will be established in 602 districts with an outlay of Rs 19064.80 Crores which includes Rs 11952.43 crore as Central share and Rs 7112.37 Crore as State Share. The component will be implemented with the help of State government within the period of five years i.e. 2025-26.

Under the scheme, there is a provision for setting up of Integrated Public Health Labs (IPHLs) in all 730 districts across the country (upto FY 2025-26) with the outlay of Rs 1482.60 Crore which includes Rs 990.40 Crore as Central Share and Rs 492.20 Crore as State Share.

26-Oct-2021: PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission

 “Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has given us the vision of comprehensive healthcare under the ‘From Token to Total’ approach. We are working with a ‘Saturation Approach’ with the Block, District, State and National levels seamlessly connected for affordable and quality healthcare”. This was stated by the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Dr Mansukh Mandaviya as he addressed a media conference on PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission launched by the Prime Minister yesterday at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar was also present on the occasion.

With an outlay of ₹64,180 crore, PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, announced in the Budget 2021-22, is the largest pan-India Health Infrastructure Scheme that aims to provide a much-needed fillip to India's capacity to address emergent Public Health issues. This will bring about a paradigm shift in India’s healthcare infrastructure and make it more resilient.

Emphasizing how development and health are interlinked, he stated that “for any country to achieve prosperity, it has to first become healthy”. Towards achieving this objective, he outlined Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision which led to schemes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Fit India, Khelo India and Yoga which are necessary for preventive health and addresses the issues holistically. The Union Health Minister added that “only a healthy nation can be a productive nation- Swastha Desh, Samruddh Desh. The umbrella pan-India Ayushman Bharat will provide primary, secondary, tertiary, digital and resilient healthcare systems that will equip the country to face challenges of pandemics in the future. The Ayushman Bharat- Health & Wellness Centres was launched in April 2018 followed by Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY in September 2018. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission was launched this year in September, while the pan-India health infrastructure strengthening scheme- PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission- was launched yesterday. These initiatives shall provide affordable, quality and accessible healthcare to all people, he added. They will also enable citizens for universal access to basic diagnostic and treatment services and will take care closer to communities in both rural and urban areas. “The poorest person is today getting the same quality healthcare as others in premier hospitals through Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY”, he said.

Speaking of the intense efforts undertaken by the Union Health Ministry in this regard, Dr. Mandaviya informed that in order to ensure better primary healthcare facilities, 1,50,000 Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres are in line to be set up, of which around 79,000 are already functioning. In addition, work has started on ensuring that every district has at least one medical college with the government already sanctioning 157 medical colleges. “This will also build a trained frontline health workforce to respond to any public health emergency”, the Union Health Minister added. He stated that the decision to expand the AIIMS network to 22 hospitals from the existing strength of 7 was also borne from the Prime Minister’s vision of safe, comprehensive, affordable and accessible healthcare for all.

Speaking on India’s strategy of turning the crisis into opportunity, Dr. Mandaviya said, “COVID-19 has provided us with an opportunity to boost healthcare facilities including laboratories, hospitals and diagnostic facilities at all the levels of healthcare”.

Highlighting some of the key features of PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, the Union health Minister stated that 134 different types of tests will be done for free at the district level which will not only save costs but also reduce unnecessary inconvenience for poor people. Secondly, for the first time in Asia, two container-based hospitals with comprehensive medical facilities will be kept ready at all times which can be swiftly mobilized by rail or air to respond to any calamity or disaster in the country.

PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission aims to produce robust outcomes in Public Health leapfrogging India to one of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of management of Public Health outbreaks. The components, such as setting up of the National Platform for One Health, setting up a Division for Research on Disease Elimination Sciences & Health as a Satellite Centre of National Aids Research Institute, setting up of the Regional NIVs, strengthening of existing National Research Institutions, the NCDC and existing laboratory infrastructure, upgradation of labs and creation of additional BSL-3 facilities under the ICMR and the NCDC, will further strengthen the country capacity to detect & diagnose new infections.

The planned interventions will also lead to availability of adequately trained manpower who can contribute to diagnosis and research on novel pathogens and biological threats, reducing dependence on foreign partners and laboratories.

Development of Critical Care Hospital Blocks in 602 districts as proposed under the scheme, shall make such districts self-sufficient, to a large extent, in providing comprehensive treatment for infectious diseases without disruption to the other essential health services and also augment the critical care capacities in the public health facilities.

Initiatives such as strengthening of Points of Entry will ring fence our borders against the import of new infectious diseases and pathogens. Health Emergency Operation Centres and the container based mobile hospitals shall further build capacities for effective emergency response during such times.

Setting up of the national, regional, state, district and block level laboratories integrated into a network for surveillance functions, backed by a robust I.T. based reporting mechanism through the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP), shall lead to self-reliance for detection, prevention and containment of disease outbreaks.

25-Oct-2021: PM launches PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission. He also inaugurated various development projects worth around Rs 5200 crore for Varanasi. Governor and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Union Ministers, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, State Ministers and people’s representatives were among those present on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said the country has achieved a major milestone of 100 crore vaccine doses in its fight against the corona epidemic. “With the blessings of Baba Vishwanath, with the unwavering glory of Maa Ganga, with the unshakable faith of the people of Kashi, the campaign of free vaccine for all is progressing successfully”, the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister lamented that in post-independent India, health infrastructure did not get the required attention for a very long time and citizens had to run from pillar to post for proper treatment, leading to worsening of the condition and financial strain.  This led to a persistent worry about medical treatment in the hearts of the middle class and poor people. Those whose governments remained in the country for a long time, instead of the all-around development of the country's healthcare system, kept it deprived of facilities.

The Prime Minister said that PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission aims to tackle this deficiency. The aim is to strengthen the critical healthcare network from village to block to the district to the regional and national level in the next 4-5 years. Describing the initiative taken by the government under the new Mission, the Prime Minister said that there are 3 major aspects of the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission to address the different gaps in the health sector of the country. The first is related to the creation of elaborate facilities for diagnostics and treatment. Under this, Health and Wellness Centers are being opened in villages and cities, where there will be facilities for early detection of diseases. Facilities like free medical consultation, free tests, free medicine will be available in these centres. For serious illness, 35 thousand new critical care-related beds are being added in 600 districts and referral facilities will be given in 125 districts.

The second aspect of the scheme, the Prime Minister said, is related to the testing network for the diagnosis of diseases. Under this mission, the necessary infrastructure will be developed for the diagnosis and monitoring of diseases. 730 districts of the country will get Integrated Public Health labs and 3 thousand blocks will get Block Public Health Units. Apart from that, 5 Regional National Centers for Disease Control, 20 Metropolitan units, and 15 BSL labs will further strengthen this network, said the Prime Minister.

The Third aspect, according to the Prime Minister, is the expansion of existing research institutions that study pandemics. Existing 80 Viral Diagnostic and research labs will be strengthened, 15 Biosafety level 15 labs will be operationalized, 4 new National institutes of Virology and a National Institute for One Health are being established. WHO regional research platform for South Asia will also strengthen this network. “This means, through PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission an entire ecosystem for services from treatment to critical research will be created in every corner of the country”, said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister highlighted the employment potential of these measures and said that PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, along with health, is also a medium of Aatmanirbharta. “It is a part of the effort to achieve holistic health care. Which means healthcare that is affordable and accessible to all.” Shri Modi said that holistic healthcare focuses on wellness along with health. Schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission, Jal Jeevan Mission, Ujjwala, Poshan Abhiyan,  Mission Indradhanush have saved crores of people from disease. More than 2 crore poor people got free treatment under Ayushman Bharat Yojna and Many health related issues are being solved through Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister remarked that today there is a government at the Center and in the state which understands the pain of the poor, downtrodden, oppressed, backward and middle class. “We are working day and night to improve health facilities in the country”, said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister said the speed with which new medical colleges are being opened in Uttar Pradesh will have a great impact on the number of medical seats and doctors in the state. Due to more seats, now the children of poor parents will also be able to dream of becoming a doctor and fulfil it, he added.

Speaking about the past plight of the holy city of Kashi, the Prime Minister said that people were almost resigned to the pathetic state of affairs of the city’s infrastructure. Things changed and today the heart of Kashi is the same, the mind is the same, but sincere efforts are being made to improve the body. “The work done in Varanasi in the last 7 years was not done in the last several decades”, he said.

The Prime Minister singled out the progress of BHU towards global excellence as one of the key achievements of Kashi over the past years. “Today, from technology to health, unprecedented facilities are being created in BHU. Young friends from all over the country are coming here for studies”, he pointed out.

Praising the 60 per cent growth in production and 90 per cent growth in sales of Khadi and other cottage industry products in the last 5 years in Varanasi, the Prime Minister once again exhorted the countrymen to promote local products and get ‘vocal for local’. He said that local doesn’t mean just a few products like Diyas but any product that is the result of the hard work of countrymen needs the promotion and patronage of all the countrymen during the festival period.