Parliament Question: Quality of Healthcare Services in Remote Areas

GOVERNMENT OFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTHAND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 1240 TOBE ANSWERED ON6TH FEBRUARY,2026 QUALITYOFHEALTHCARE SERVICES IN REMOTE AREAS 1240.SHRITHARANIVENTHAN M S: Will the Ministerof HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate: (a) whether the Government has conducted any assessment of the availability and quality of healthcarefacilities inremote,hillyandtribal areasof the country; (b) if so, the details of the findings, including gaps in primary healthcare, availability of doctors, specialists andparamedical staff; (c) whether the Government is implementing schemes to strengthen Sub-Centres, PHCs and CHCs in tribal regions, especially under the National Health Mission (NHM), if so, the detailsthereof; (d) the steps taken by the Government to improve access to emergency care, maternal healthcare and treatment for communicable diseases in tribal and hard-to-reach habitations across the country, State-wise especiallyinTamil Nadu; and (e) the measures being adopted by the Government to enhance telemedicine, mobile medical units and digital health infrastructure in these areas to reduce disparities in healthcare delivery? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRIPRATAPRAO JADHAV) (a) to (e): Under National Health Mission (NHM), the performance of various health programmes is regularly assessed in the country including remote, hilly and tribal areas, through reviewmeetings, midterm reviews of keydeliverables,fieldvisits of senior officials, promoting performance by setting up benchmarks for service delivery & rewarding achievements etc. Common Review Missions (CRM) are conducted annually to assess and monitorthe progress andimplementation status of variousschemes. Health Dynamics of India (HDI) (Infrastructure & Human Resources), 2022-23 is an annual publication, based on healthcare administrative data reported by States/UTs. Details of availability of healthcare facilities and specialized human resources & gaps in the country including remote, hilly and tribal areas, State/UT-wise, may be seen at the following link of 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 The National Health Mission (NHM) provides support for improvement in health infrastructure, availability of adequate human resources in health facilities, to improve availability and accessibility to quality healthcare especially for the under-served and marginalized groups in rural areas and tribal regions. This Ministry provides technical and financial support to the States/UTs to strengthen the public healthcare system, based on the proposals receivedinthe form of Programme ImplementationPlans(PIPs) underNHM. A total of 1.82 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs) have been established and operationalized in the country by strengthening Sub Health Centres (SHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs), including 30,817 AAMs in 178 tribal districts, which deliver expanded range of comprehensive primary healthcare services encompassing preventive, promotive,palliative, rehabilitative,andcurative care. Under NHM, norms have been relaxed for tribal/hilly/hard-to-reach areas to strengthen healthcare access. Population criteria for setting up of Sub Health Centres (SHCs), Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) have been reduced to 3,000, 20,000 and 80,000 respectively. One Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) is allowed perhabitationinstead of per1,000population,andupto4Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) per district are permitted intribal andhard-to-reachareas, comparedto 2inplaindistricts. The Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) with an outlay of Rs.64,180 crore aims to provide support for infrastructure development for Sub- Health Centres, Urban Health and Wellness Centres, Support for Block Public Health Units, Integrated District Public Health Laboratories (IPHLs) and Critical Care Hospital Blocks (CCBs) which provides emergency & critical care services in the country. 168 IPHL and 110 CCBs have beenapprovedinthe tribal districts underPM-ABHIM. The Government is making sustained efforts to ensure universal health coverage for tribal women across the country, including in Tamilnadu, through the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn Child, Adolescent Health Plus Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy under NHM, focusing on antenatal care, institutional deliveries, post-natal care and family planning services; Promotion of institutional deliveries through schemes such as Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK); Regular outreach activities, healtheducationand screening byASHAs andotherfrontline workers intribal habitations. The teleconsultation services, available at all operational AAMs across the country including tribal regions, enablespeople toaccessthe specialist services closer totheirhomes addressing concernsof physical accessibility, shortage of service providersandto facilitatecontinuum of care.Total teleconsultationsconductedat AAMsare 42.66 crore, ason31.12.2025. Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) are supported under NHM to provide outreach services in remote villages with difficult terrain which are underserved and inaccessible. As per NHM-MIS report, a total of 1477 MMUs have been deployed across the country including Tamilnadu, ason30.06.2025. Under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN), launched on 15th November, 2023 by MoTA, further relaxation in NHM norms has been provided up to 10 MMUs per district with Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) areas. Norms have been relaxed for one additional Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) for each Multi Purpose Centre (MPC) constructed by MoTA. As per MMU portal, 763 MMUs under PM- JANMAN and 155 MMUs under Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA) are operational across the country for providing basic health services in tribal areas till 31.12.2025. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to create an online platform enabling interoperability of health data within the health ecosystem to create longitudinal electronic health record of every citizen, make healthcare accessible for citizens including reducing the cost of care and enabling greater efficiencies in health service delivery between public and private Healthcare institutions. *****