Union cabinet approves Rs 23,123-crore package for boosting health infra

New Delhi: The Union cabinet Thursday approved a Rs 23,123-crore financial package for improving health infrastructure in the country to fight the Covid pandemic. Addressing a press conference here after the first meeting of the Union cabinet following its reshuffle on Wednesday, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the package will be implemented over the next nine months till March 2022. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mandaviya said this is the second phase of the Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package as the Central government had given Rs 15,000 crore earlier for setting up Covid-dedicated hospitals and health centres across the country.

Mandaviya said that under the new package, the Centre would provide Rs 15,000 crore and states Rs 8,000 crore and the plan would be implemented jointly by them across all the 736 districts of the country to improve medical infrastructure at primary and district health centres.

Around 2.4 lakh normal medical beds and 20,000 ICU beds would be created of which 20 percent would be specially earmarked for children, he said.

The minister said storage facilities for oxygen and medicines would also be created at district level under the plan.

The plan aims to accelerate health system preparedness for immediate responsiveness for early prevention, detection and management of Covid with the focus on infrastructure development including for Paediatric Care and with measurable outcomes, he said.