India’s Health Transformation

Why in the news?

India highlighted major achievements in healthcare over the past 12 years, focusing on universal health coverage, affordable healthcare, digital health, disease control, and healthcare infrastructure expansion.

Key Highlights

• Over 44 crore families are insured under Ayushman Bharat.
• More than 1.86 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are operational.
• Over: 47 crore telemedicine consultations delivered.
• 12 new AIIMS have been operational since 2014.
• Generic medicines available: 50–90% cheaper through Jan Aushadhi Kendras.
• Maternal and child mortality have significantly reduced.
• TB incidence and malaria deaths declined sharply.

Ayushman Bharat Programme

Ayushman Bharat is India’s flagship universal health coverage programme launched in 2018.

Four Pillars

1. AB-PMJAY
2. Ayushman Arogya Mandirs
3. PM-ABHIM
4. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

1. AB-PMJAY

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana

Features

• World’s largest publicly funded health insurance scheme.
• Provides: ₹5 lakh annual insurance per family.
• Covers: About 12 crore vulnerable families.

Achievements

• 44.14 crore Ayushman cards issued.
• 12.03 crore hospitalisations covered.
• Treatment worth:
  • ₹1.80 lakh crore provided.
• 36,218 hospitals empanelled.

Ayushman Bharat Vay Vandana

• Launched in October 2024.
• Extends insurance coverage to: All citizens above 70 years.

2. Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs)

• Purpose: Community-level comprehensive primary healthcare centres.

Services

• Preventive healthcare
• Diagnostics
• Mental healthcare
• Teleconsultation
• Free medicines
• Emergency care.

Achievements

• 1.86 lakh+ centres operational.
• Over 540 crore cumulative footfall.

3. PM-ABHIM

• Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission

• Objective: Strengthen healthcare infrastructure and pandemic preparedness.

• Features

• Integrated public health labs.
• Critical care hospital blocks.
• Urban and rural wellness centres.
• Disease surveillance systems.
• Outlay: ₹64,180 crore.

4. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

Objective: Develop citizen-centric digital healthcare ecosystem.

• Key Feature

• ABHA: Ayushman Bharat Health Account.
• 14-digit digital health ID.

Benefits

• Portable digital health records.
• Paperless healthcare access.
• Better health data integration.

Achievements

• 20.49 crore app registrations.
• 27,328 healthcare facilities connected.

National Health Mission (NHM)

Components

• National Rural Health Mission
• National Urban Health Mission.

Maternal and Child Health

• Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan: Free antenatal care for pregnant women.
• Janani Suraksha Yojana: Promotes institutional deliveries.
• Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram: Free delivery and treatment for mothers and newborns.

Mission Indradhanush

• Objective: Vaccinate partially immunised and unvaccinated children and pregnant women.

Achievements

• 5.46 crore children vaccinated.
• 1.32 crore pregnant women covered.
• WHO Recognition: India declared free from maternal and neonatal tetanus in 2015.

U-WIN Platform

Purpose: Digital immunisation tracking platform.

Coverage

• 11.87 crore children registered.
• 3.96 crore pregnant women registered.

Tuberculosis Elimination

Programme: National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme

Initiative

• Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan: Community participation for TB elimination.
• Support System: Nikshay Mitras provide nutritional and social support.

Malaria Elimination

• National Framework for Malaria Elimination launched in 2016.
• Goal: Eliminate malaria by 2027.

Other Disease Control Achievements

• Improvements in: HIV/AIDS, Kala-azar, Dengue, Japanese Encephalitis, Leprosy, and Lymphatic Filariasis.

COVID-19 Response

Achievements

• 220 crore vaccine doses administered.
• Testing labs expanded: From 14 to 3,400.
• Oxygen-supported beds increased significantly.
• Vaccine Maitri: Vaccines supplied to nearly 100 countries.

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)

• Screenings Conducted Over: 60 crore cancer screenings.
• Diseases Covered: Oral cancer, Breast cancer, Cervical cancer, Diabetes, Hypertension.

Affordable Healthcare

• Jan Aushadhi Kendras: Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana

• Benefits: Generic medicines available at 50–80% lower prices.

AMRIT Pharmacies

• Objective: Provide discounted life-saving medicines and implants.

• Impact: ₹8,400 crore patient savings.

Emergency Healthcare

Ambulance Services

• Dial 108: Medical emergencies.
• Dial 102: Pregnant women and child transport.

Digital Healthcare

• eSanjeevani

Achievements

• 47 crore+ teleconsultations.
• 2.34 lakh healthcare providers onboarded.

Tele-MANAS

Purpose: Mental health tele-counselling service.

• Coverage: Available in 20 languages across all States and UTs.

i-DRONE

Purpose: Drone-based delivery of:

• Medicines
• Vaccines
• Blood samples.

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Examples

• AI-enabled Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS).
• “Cough Against TB” tool for TB screening.
• MadhuNetrAI for diabetic retinopathy detection.

Medical Education Expansion

Achievements

• Medical colleges more than doubled since 2014.
• 157 new nursing colleges approved.

AYUSH Integration

• Ministry of AYUSH established in 2014.

Achievements

• AYUSH facilities integrated with public health centres.
• AYUSH Visa introduced in 2023.

[2022] With reference to Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, consider the following statements:
1. Private and public hospitals must adopt it.
2. As it aims to achieve universal health coverage, every citizen of India should be part of it ultimately.
3. It has seamless portability across the country.
.Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

[A] 1 and 2 only

[B] 3 only

[C] 1 and 3 only

[D] 1, 2 and 3