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GOVERNMENTOFINDIA
MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE
DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH RESEARCH
LOK SABHA
UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 5650
TOBE ANSWERED ON27TH MARCH, 2026
HEALTH EMERGENCYPREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSETRUSTFUND
5650. SHRILAVUSRIKRISHNADEVARAYALU:
SHRIBASTIPATI NAGARAJU:
Will the Minister of HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate:
(a) the details of the funds allocated and utilised under the Health Emergency Preparedness and
Response (HEPR)Trust FundinIndia,year-wisesince itsinception;
(b) the details regarding the list of activities undertaken and infrastructure created or funded
through the HEPRTrust Fund;
(c) whether projects have been approved under the said Trust Fund and if so, the details thereof
includingyear-wise approvalssince inception,State-wise anddistrict-wise for Andhra Pradesh;and
(d) the current physical progress of such projects along with the timelines likely to be taken for
the completionof ongoingprojects?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE
(SHRIPRATAPRAO JADHAV)
(a)to(d): Government has approved a total of one million dollars budget for Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR) under the World Bank supported Health Emergency Preparedness and
Response (HEPR) trust fund project starting from year 2025-26. The following activities have been
envisagedfor enhancinginnovation inICMR through HEPRtrust fund:
(i) supporting ecosystem development to promote translation of promising research done by ICMR
institutions to products and services accessible to vulnerable populations building on the MedTech
Mitra initiative;
(ii)supporting bio-repositories of ICMR bio- materials comingout of research;
(iii) capacity building of ICMR scientists and staff in critical areas of market access for promising
innovationsarising out of itsresearch.
There is no provision of physical infrastructure development in the HEPR Trust Fund Project.
However, under the Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDL) Scheme of Department of
Health Research (DHR), a total of 167 VRDLs have been approved in different States and Union
Territories which undertake the task of research, surveillance and diagnosis of viral pathogens,
thereby playing a significant role in health emergency preparedness and response. Among these, 9
VRDLs have beenapprovedinthe State of Andhra Pradesh.
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