Centre keeps ₹64k cr for Atmanirbhar scheme; allocation for Ayushman Bharat remains
unchanged
India’s overall allocation for health and well being has soared by 137% in the financial year
2021-22 to ₹2.23 lakh crore compared to the budgeted spending in 2020-21 as the country
seeks to boost the capacity of its health-care system to detect and cure new and emerging
diseases in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Budget unveiled by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman features a new centrallysponsored
initiative called the PMAtmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana, with an outlay of about
₹64,180 crores over six years. It set aside ₹35,000 crore for Covid-19 vaccines.
The initiative is aimed at developing capacities of the primary, secondary, and tertiary care
health systems, strengthen existing national institutions, and creating new institutions to detect
and cure new diseases in the wake of the pandemic that has affected 10.7 million people and
claimed more than 154,000 lives in the country. It will be in addition to the National Health
Mission.
“…The Budget outlay for health and well being is ₹2,23,846 crores in BE 2021-22 as against
this year’s BE of ₹94,452 crores, an increase of 137 percent,” Sitharaman said.
Experts noted that the 137% increase includes many one-time allocations.
“The proposed investment of ₹64,200 crore over six years under the PM AtmaNirbhar Swasth
Bharat Yojana is encouraging… excluding Covid vaccinations and water and sanitation
expenditure, the remaining healthcare budget has seen a modest increase of 11% (vs. 137% for
the overall healthcare budget)…,” said Manoj Garg, director of investments at White Oak
Capital, in a statement.
The budgeted expenditure on the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme has been kept
unchanged at ₹6,400 crore, Garg noted.
“The increase in the healthcare budget from ₹94,500 crore to ₹2.23 lakh crore is driven in large
part by budgetary allocations for Covid vaccinations (₹35,000 crore, accounting for 27% of the
increase) and an increase in water and sanitation costs (₹74,500 crore, accounting for 58% of
the increase),” he added.
This year’s budget proposal rests on six pillars, of which health and well-being is one of the
key pillars. The government’s three focus areas in the health segment mentioned by the finance
minister were preventive, curative and well-being.
Many inclusions in the budget this year have been made keeping in mind the coronavirus
disease (Covid-19) pandemic, and to deal with such public health emergencies in future, that
includes setting aside ₹35,000 crore for Covid-19 vaccines, additional grants of ₹13,192 for
health, ₹36,022 crore for water and sanitation, and strengthening disease surveillance initiatives
by upgrading the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
In order to better the deal with infectious disease outbreaks, the government plans to set up
integrated public health labs in all districts and 3,382 block public health units in 11 states, and
establishing critical care hospital blocks in 602 districts and 12 central institutions.
The plan for strengthening of the NCDC will also include upgrading its five regional branches,
and 20 metropolitan health surveillance units. There will be an expansion of the integrated
health information portal to all states and Union territories to connect all public health labs;
operationalisation of 17 new public health units and strengthening of 33 existing public health
units at points of entry, that is at 32 airports, 11 seaports and seven land crossings.
“The budget provides a much-needed boost to health, nutrition sanitation and pollution control,
all of which will contribute to improved health and well being. Primary health care is receiving
more support, with even the previously neglected urban component getting new health and
wellness centres. The strengthening of disease surveillance system across the country and entry
points to the country as well as the laboratory capacity in all districts is also needed for
pandemic prevention and epidemic response,” said Dr K Srinath Reddy, founder, Public Health
Foundation of India (PHFI).
For enhancing disease surveillance system, the government will also set up 15 health
emergency operation centres and two mobile hospitals; along with a national institution for
One Health, a regional research platform for the World Health Organisation’s South East Asia
Region, and nine Bo-Safety Level (BSL)-3 laboratories and four regional National Institutes
for Virology.
“Two or more vaccines are expected soon, and I allot ₹35,000 crore for Covid-19 vaccines in
2021-22, and committed to providing more funds, if required,” Sitharaman said.
The use of another key vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, that saves children from potentially
fatal health conditions such as pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis will be expanded to other
states. Currently, the vaccine is being used only in five states, and will now be rolled out in the
entire country.
“It will avoid more than 50,000 child deaths annually in India,” said Sitharaman.
Since malnutrition is one of the primary concerns in India because of which many healthrelated
indicators are still not improving, the government has proposed launching an
improvised Mission Poshan 2.0, to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach, and
outcomes by merging the supplementary nutrition programme and the earlier Poshan Abhiyan.
An intensified approach is planned to improve nutritional outcomes across 112 aspirational
districts.
https://epaper.hindustantimes.com/Home/ArticleView
No comments:
Post a Comment