Parliament Question: Strengthening primary health care services and encouraging disease prevention

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 415 TO BE ANSWERED ON 3rd FEBRUARY, 2026 STRENGTHENING PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SERVICES AND ENCOURAGING DISEASE PREVENTION 415#. SHRI TEJVEER SINGH: Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state: (a) the steps taken by Government recently to strengthen primary healthcare services and encourage disease prevention in the country; (b) the details of recent policies/programmes related to Ayushman Bharat, digital health and maternal and child health; and (c) the improvements observed so far in the access to healthcare services, their quality and public health indicators as a result of these initiatives? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV) (a): The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare provides technical and financial support to the States/UTs to strengthen the public healthcare services and to promote disease prevention, based on the proposals received in the form of Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) under National Health Mission (NHM). Government of India provides approval for the proposals in the form of Record of Proceedings (RoPs) as per norms & available resources. Various initiatives carried out under NHM by the Government of India in the country are operationalisation of Ayushman Arogya Mandir (AAM), Free Drugs Service Initiative, Free Diagnostic Service Initiative, National Ambulance Services, Mobile Medical Units, ASHAs, 24 x 7 Services and First Referral Facilities, Prime Minister's National Dialysis Programme, various activities under Reproductive & Child Health, Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) strategy, TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan and Universal Immunization programme. National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) focuses on strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, early diagnosis, referral to an appropriate level of healthcare facility for treatment and management and health promotion and awareness generation for prevention of NCDs including cervical cancer. Under NP-NCD, 770 District NCD Clinics, 364 District Day Care Centres, 233 Cardiac Care Units and 6410 Community Health Centre NCD Clinics has been set up. Additional 297 Day Care Cancer Centers (DCCC) also approved in this financial year. A population-based initiative for screening, management and prevention of common NCDs have been rolled out as a part of comprehensive Primary Health Care in the country under NHM.(b) Through 1.82 lakh AAMs, comprehensive primary healthcare is provided by strengthening Sub Health Centres (SHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs). These AAMs provide preventive, promotive, rehabilitative and curative care for an expanded range of services encompassing reproductive and child healthcare services, Communicable diseases, Non- communicable diseases and other health issues. Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri - Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) is a flagship scheme of the Government which provides health cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to approximately 55 Crore beneficiaries corresponding to 12.37 Crore families constituting economically vulnerable bottom 40% of India’s population. Recently, the scheme has been expanded to cover 6 crore senior citizens of age 70 years and above belonging to 4.5 crore families irrespective of their socio-economic status under AB PM- JAY with Vay Vandana Card. PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), launched with an outlay of Rs. 64,180 crore, focuses on developing capacities of health systems and institutions across the country. 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 Health care institutions. 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 providers and to facilitate continuum of care. The Government of India has undertaken various initiatives under NHM to improve maternal, neonatal and child health outcomes across the country. Key measures are as follows:  Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK):Promote institutional deliveries and provide free, cashless delivery (including caesarean), diagnostics, drugs, diet, transport and blood transfusion in public health facilities, with similar benefits for sick infants.  Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA):Provides free, assured antenatal check-ups by Specialists/Medical Officers on the 9th of every month, with emphasis on identification and management of high-risk pregnancies.  Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN):Ensures assured, dignified, respectful and quality healthcare at no cost with zero tolerance for denial of services to pregnant women and newborns.  Postnatal Care Initiatives:Strengthen early detection, referral and management of high-risk postpartum mothers through ASHA support.  Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB):Addresses anemia among children, adolescents, women of reproductive age, pregnant and lactating women through a lifecycle approach.  Nutrition and Child Health Interventions:Include Mothers’ Absolute Affection (MAA), Lactation Management Centres, Vitamin A supplementation, Home-Based Newborn Care (HBNC)/Home-Based Care for Young Child Programme (HBYC) and Mission Poshan 2.0.(c): Under the National Health Policy, 2017, the Government has set time-bound targets to improve health outcomes and has made significant progress towards achieving these goals. Total Fertility Rate has declined to 2.0 [National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5)], Maternal and child health indicators have shown steady improvement, with the Maternal Mortality Ratio declining to 88 per lakh live births, Infant Mortality Rate to 25 per thousand and Under-Five Mortality Rate to 29 per thousand [Sample Registration System (SRS 2023)]. ******