PM Modi launches Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, one of the largest pan-India schemes for building healthcare infrastructure.

The prime minister also unveiled a number of development projects in his constituency worth more than Rs 5,200 crore.

One of the biggest pan-India projects for developing healthcare infrastructure is the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission. In addition to the National Health Mission, this is a new initiative.

The initiative seeks to fill gaps in public health infrastructure, particularly in critical care and primary care institutions, in both urban and rural locations. It will fund 17,788 rural health and wellness centres in ten high-priority states. In addition, in all states, 11,024 urban health and wellness centres will be constructed.

Critical care services would be accessible through unique critical care hospital blocks in all districts of the country with a population of more than five lakh people, while the remaining districts will be served through referral services.

Through a network of laboratories around the country, people will have access to a comprehensive range of diagnostic services in the public healthcare system. Also, integrated public health labs will be set up in all districts.

A national institute for one health, four new national institutes for virology, a regional research platform for the WHO South East Asia Region, nine biosafety level-III laboratories, and five new regional national centres for disease control will be established as part of the project.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated nine medical institutes in Uttar Pradesh, almost all of them are located in Siddharthnagar.

The medical colleges that were launched are built at a cost of Rs 2,329 crore and are located in the districts of Siddharthnagar, Etah, Hardoi, Pratapgarh, Fatehpur, Deoria, Ghazipur, Mirzapur, and Jaunpur.

Eight medical colleges have been approved under a Centrally supported scheme for the creation of new medical colleges linked to district or referral hospitals, the one in Jaunpur has been made operational using state funds.