Parliament Question: Norms for Establishment of Private and Government Hospitals

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 4796 TOBE ANSWERED ON 20TH MARCH, 2026 NORMS FORESTABLISHMENTOFPRIVATEAND GOVERNMENTHOSPITALS †4796.SHRIMANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA: Will the Minister of HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFARE be pleased tostate: (a) the details of the infrastructural norms laid down for establishment of private and Government hospitals inthe Country; (b) whether it is a fact that the condition of infrastructure in most of the hospitals in the Country ispathetic; (c)if so, the detailsthereof; and (d) the detailsof the corrective steps beingtakenby the Government inthisregard? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SMT. ANUPRIYAPATEL) (a) to (d): ‘Health’ being a State subject, the primary responsibility for establishment and maintenanceof hospitals lieswith the respective States/UTs. The National Health Mission (NHM), inter-alia, provides support for improvement in infrastructure in health facilities, in order to provide quality health care for all including poor andvulnerable sections inurban, rural,andtribal/hillyareas. The Ministry of Healthand Family Welfare (MoHFW) provides technical and financial support to the States/UTs to strengthen the public healthcare system in rural areas based on the proposals received in the form of Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) underNHM. Government of India provides approval for the proposal in the form of Record of Proceedings (RoPs) as per norms & available resources. Further, to improve health infrastructure and services in public health facilities, government has laid down Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS). The IPHS for Sub-Centres, PrimaryHealth Centres, CommunityHealth Centres, Sub-District Hospitals and District Hospitals were published in 2007 and revised in 2012 and 2022. They are a set of uniform standards envisaged to deliver quality services to citizens with dignity and respect. They provide guidance on the health system components such as infrastructure, human resource, drugs, diagnostics, equipment, quality, and governance requirements for deliveringhealth services at these facilities. They are used as the reference point for public health care infrastructure planningandup-gradation inthe StatesandUTs. Moreover, the Government of India enacted the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 (CE Act) and notified the Clinical Establishments (Central Government) Rules, 2012 amended in 2018 and 2020 (CE Rules) to provide for registration and regulation of Government (except those of Armed Forces) as well as private clinical establishments belonging to recognized systems of medicine. As per CE Act, the clinical establishments are requiredto fulfill the conditions of minimum standards of services provided for each type of service provided. The CE Act is applicable in 19 States/UTs (12 States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Uttarakhand & Uttar Pradesh and 7 UTs of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Lakshadweep & Puducherry). The States / UTs which have adopted the CE Act are primarily responsible for enforcing/implementing the provisions of the CE Act for regulating their diagnostic laboratories. The Act has empowered a registering authority at the district level under the chairmanship of the District Collector / District Magistrate to take actions including imposing penalties in respect of violation of its provisions. The Act also provides for cancellation of registration, if the provisions of the Act are not complied with. The clinical establishments in the States/UTs, which have not adopted and implemented the CE Act, are registered andregulated bythe respective StateActs. *****