**Executive Summary**
This document provides the government's response to Unstarred Question No. 1247 regarding the impact of the PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) on rural health access, specifically in relation to the availability of doctors, specialists, nurses, and diagnostic services in rural health centers. The response, given on 06.02.2026, details initiatives aimed at strengthening health infrastructure and expanding access to healthcare in rural areas. It mentions that the ministry makes key details of doctors, specialists and nurses available on its Health Dynamics of India (HDI) website.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Availability of Resources:**
* Details regarding doctors, specialists, and nurses in Rural Primary Health Centres and Community Health Centres are available on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website, in the Health Dynamics of India (HDI) 2022–23 section.
* Link: https://mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/Health%20Dynamics%20of%20India%20%28Infrastructure%20%26%20Human%20Resources%29%202022-23_RE%20%281%29.pdf
* **PM-ABHIM:**
* The PM-ABHIM is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) with some Central Sector Components (CS), with an outlay of Rs. 64,180 Crores for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26.
* It aims to strengthen health service delivery and public health action, including health research.
* The assessment indicates that PM-ABHIM is a highly relevant and equity-oriented intervention aimed at addressing critical gaps in public health infrastructure.
* It focuses on improving the availability and accessibility of essential health services at the district and block levels.
* **Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM):**
* The ABDM aims to develop the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country.
* It bridges gaps among different stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem through digital highways.
* Specific measures under ABDM ensure data quality, patient consent, and interoperability in the digital health ecosystem.
* **Teleconsultation Services:**
* Digital platforms like e-Sanjeevani provide teleconsultation services, improving accessibility in rural and underserved areas.
* Teleconsultation services at operational AAMs enable access to specialist services, addressing physical accessibility issues and shortage of service providers.
* **Mobile Medical Units (MMUs):**
* States receive support under the National Health Mission (NHM) for deploying MMUs in remote, hard-to-reach, underserved, and unserved areas.
* A total of 1,498 MMUs are supported under NHM to the States.
* **Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS):**
* The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched an open-source toolkit and a dashboard under IPHS to monitor compliance with the IPHS 2022 standards.
* These tools help states identify gaps and receive targeted support.
* **HMIS Portal:**
* The HMIS portal enables real-time report generation at State, District and below levels.
* Stakeholders can generate district-level reports and analyze key performance indicators of CHCs and PHCs.
**Impact Analysis**
**Ministry of Health and Family Welfare**
* **Impact:** Responsible for overseeing and implementing schemes like PM-ABHIM and ABDM.
* **Action Required:** Ensure effective implementation and monitoring of the schemes to improve rural health access, including maintaining and updating the Health Dynamics of India (HDI) database.
**State Governments/UTs**
* **Impact:** Responsible for deploying MMUs in remote areas and utilizing the open-source toolkit under the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS). They can generate district level reports to analyze indicators.
* **Action Required:** Utilize support under NHM to deploy MMUs effectively, identify gaps using the IPHS tools, and use the HMIS portal for performance analysis.
**Citizens (Especially in Rural and Underserved Areas)**
* **Impact:** Increased access to healthcare services, including specialist consultations through telemedicine and MMUs.
* **Action Required:** Utilize available resources, such as teleconsultation services and MMUs, to address healthcare needs.
**Healthcare Professionals (Doctors, Specialists, Nurses)**
* **Impact:** Opportunity to expand their reach through telemedicine and contribute to improved healthcare access in rural areas.
* **Action Required:** Actively participate in telemedicine programs and engage with MMUs to provide healthcare services to underserved populations.
Key Entities Referenced
PM-ABHIM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission: Centrally Sponsored Scheme aimed at strengthening health service delivery and public health action in rural areas.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: The primary ministry responsible for the health initiatives mentioned in the document.
National Health Mission (NHM): A health program under which states receive support for deploying Mobile Medical Units.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM): Initiative to develop the digital health infrastructure of the country.
NITI Aayog: The Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog, conducted the evaluation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes of the Health Sector.
GOVERNMENTOFINDIA
MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE
DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 1247
TOBE ANSWERED ONTHE 06.02.2026
IMPACTOFPM-ABHIM ONRURALHEALTH ACCESS
1247.DR. PRABHAMALLIKARJUN:
Will the Ministerof HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate:
(a) the current status of availability of doctors, specialists, nurses and diagnostic services in
Rural PrimaryHealth CentresandCommunityHealthCentresinthe country;
(b) whether the Government has assessed the impact of Ayushman Bharat Health
Infrastructure Mission onrural healthaccess andif so, the detailsthereof;
(c) the steps taken by the Government to expand telemedicine, mobile medical units and
digitalhealthservices inremote areasof the country; and
(d) whether any State or district-level gaps have been identified and if so, the details thereof
alongwith the corrective measures proposed inthisregard?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND
FAMILYWELFARE
(SHRIPRATAPRAO JADHAV)
(a)to(d): The detailsof doctors, specialists, nurses inRural PrimaryHealthCentresand
CommunityHealthCentresin the countryare availableon the website of the Ministry of
HealthandFamily Welfareat the following linkof HealthDynamicsof India (HDI)2022–23:
https://mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/Health%20Dynamics%20of%20India%20%28Infrastr
ucture%20%26%20Human%20Resources%29%202022-23_RE%20%281%29.pdf
PM-ABHIM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) is a
CentrallySponsoredScheme(CSS)with some Central SectorComponents(CS)which hasan
outlay of Rs. 64,180 Crores for the scheme period (2021-22 to 2025-26). The scheme
envisages a newgeneration of reforms to integrate and strengthen healthservice delivery and
public health action including health research so that the communities are Atmanirbhar in
managing such pandemics or health crisis. The measures under the scheme are aimed atstrengthening health systems and institutions in order to provide a continuum of care at all
levels, namely primary, secondary, and tertiary, as well as preparing health systems to
respond effectively tocurrent andfuture pandemicsanddisasters.
The impact of the PM-ABHIM on health service availability and access, including in
rural and underserved areas, has been assessed based on a review of the Mission’s progress
and outcomes. This assessment includes findings from the evaluation of Centrally Sponsored
Schemes of the Health Sector conducted by the Development Monitoring and Evaluation
Office (DMEO),NITI Aayog, underPackage-7.
The assessment indicates that PM-ABHIM is a highly relevant and equity-oriented
interventionaimed at addressing criticalgapsinpublic healthinfrastructure.
The assessment further notes that PM-ABHIM represents a transformative step
towards strengthening the public health system, with a focus on improving the availability
and accessibility of essential health services at the district and block levels. The Mission
complements existing health programmes and contributes to building a more resilient and
responsive healthsystem for rural andremote areas.
The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to develop the backbone
necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country. It will bridge
the existing gap amongst different stakeholders of healthcare ecosystem through digital
highways. Under the ABDM, specific measures have been instituted to ensure data quality,
patientconsent, andinteroperability inthe digitalhealthecosystem.
Additionally, digital platforms such as e-Sanjeevani platform to provide
teleconsultation services to strengthen digital healthcare and improve accessibility especially
in rural and underserved areas.The teleconsultation services, available at all operational
AAMs across the country including rural areas, enables people to access the specialist
services closer to their homes addressing concerns of physical accessibility, shortage of
service providersandtofacilitate continuumof care.
Under the National Health Mission (NHM), states receive support for deploying
Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) especially for populations in remote, hard-to-reach,
underserved, and unserved areas to improve access to public healthcare. A total of 1,498
MMUs are supported underNHM tothe States.The Ministry of HealthandFamily Welfarehas launchedan open-source toolkit anda
dashboard under Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS). The IPHS Dashboard is a cutting-
edge digital platform designed to monitor public health facilities' compliance with the IPHS
2022 standards. These tools help states identify gaps and receive targeted support to achieve
the requiredstandards andfacilitate timelyinterventions.
The HMIS portal enables real-time report generation at State, District and below
levels. The concerned stakeholders of the States/UTs can generate district level reports from
HMIS andanalyse keyperformance indicatorsof CHCs andPHCs.
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