Parliament Question: Status of Public Health Infrastructure

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 2519 TO BE ANSWERED ON13.02.2026 STATUS OFPUBLICHEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE 2519.DR. ALOK KUMAR SUMAN: Will the Ministerof HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate: (a) the present status of public health infrastructure in the country, including hospitals, primaryhealthcentresandspecialised medical facilities; (b) the measures taken by the Government to ensure access to affordable, quality healthcare and timely delivery of services under schemes such as Ayushman Bharat and other Central healthprogrammes; (c) the steps being implemented by the Government to strengthen disease prevention, vaccination coverage, maternal and child health and control of communicable and noncommunicablediseases; (d) whether any initiatives have been undertaken by the Government to promote health awareness, medicalresearch, digitalhealthplatforms andtelemedicineservices, if so, the detailsthereof; (e) the mechanisms put in place to monitor service delivery, ensure accountability and address grievancesof patientsandhealthcareprovidersinthe country; and (f) the additional policy, financial and institutional measures proposed by the Government to further improve healthcare access, quality, workforce development and public health outcomesnationwide? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE (SHRIPRATAPRAO JADHAV) (a) to (f): The details regarding hospitals, primary health centres and specialised medical facilitiesacross the country canbe accessed at the following linkof 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 Ministry of Health and Family Welfare provides technical and financial support to the States/UTs to strengthen the public healthcare system including expansion of infrastructure and provisions for specialists posts, based on the proposals received in the form of Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) under National Health Mission. Government of India providesapprovalfor the proposal inthe form of Recordof Proceedings (RoPs) aspernorms& available resources. The detailsare availableinpublic domainat: https://nhm.gov.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=1&sublinkid=1377&lid=744 As updated by the States/UTs in AAM portal, a total of 1,82,944 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs have been established and operationalized as on 31.12.2025. Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs), erstwhile Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs), have been established by upgrading existing Sub-Health Centres (SHC) and Primary Health Centres (PHC) in rural and urban areas to deliver 12 package of basic healthcare services. These primarily health services include Reproductive and Child Health (RMNCHA+N) services, Communicable Diseases, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) (screening and management for NCDs such as Hypertension, Diabetes and 3 common cancers of Oral, Breast and Cervix) and incrementally adding other services for mental health, ENT, Ophthalmology, oral health,geriatric andpalliative healthcare andtrauma care etc. Various other initiatives carried out under NHM for improving timely access to quality care for all citizens to the people residing in remote and underserved area of the country are National Ambulance Services (NAS), Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) , ASHAs, 24 x 7 Services and First Referral facilities, Prime Minister's National Dialysis Programme (PMNDP) , Free Diagnostics Service Initiative and Free Drugs Service Initiative, various activities under Reproductive & Child Health, Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (PMTBMBA) and Universal Immunization programme & Telemedicine are also being implemented with NHM support to improve healthcare access particularly in rural areas. These are the majorinitiatives toincrease accesstoqualityhealth care inrural areas. Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri - Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) is a centrally sponsored scheme provides health cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to approximately 55 Cr beneficiaries corresponding to 12.34Crore families constituting the bottom 40% of India’spopulation.Further, the major initiatives taken by the Government to improve maternal and child health services includes Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), STOPDiarrhoea campaign, Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB), Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), Universal Immunization Programme, UWIN, Mission Indradhanush, etc. In order to prevent and control various Communicable Diseases various schemes are operated like National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme (NVBDCP), National TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (TBMBA), National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP), National Viral HepatitisControl Programme(NVHCP), etc. Further, to prevent and control various Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) for preventionand control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases andStroke, National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), and National Mental Health Programme (NMHP), Tele MANAS etc.are inoperation. The Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) have been developed by MoHFW for primary and secondary healthcare facilities which provides a set of uniform standards envisagedtoimprove the quality of healthcare deliveryinthe country. The Government of India has implemented the National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) which is a comprehensive framework established by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), aimed at ensuring and enhancing the quality of healthcare services providedat public health facilities. Monitoring underthe National Health Mission (NHM) is carriedout through a robust, multi-layered framework that includes review of State-wise Key Deliverables against approved targets during NPCC meetings with all States/UTs including Tamil Nadu, regular assessment of performance through the Output–Outcome Monitoring Framework (OOMF). In addition, annual Common Review Missions (CRMs) provide independent, on-ground assessments of programme implementation, healthsystem strengthening, and progress onkey indicators, enabling identification of gaps, course correction, and strengthening of accountabilityat StateandDistrict levels.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 *****