Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM)

✦Key Features

• Budget: ₹64,180 crore over 5 years (one of largest health infra investments)
• 17,788 Rural Health and Wellness Centres (sub-centres upgraded)
• 11,024 Urban Health and Wellness Centres in urban areas
• 602 District Hospitals with Critical Care Blocks for oxygen, ICU, ventilators
• 12 Central Institutes of Virology for virus surveillance and outbreak response
• 730 National Disease Control Centres (15 new, 715 strengthened)
• 5 National Institutes for the Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS-type)

✓Eligibility Criteria

• States and Union Territory administrations are the primary entities eligible for infrastructure funding and grants.
• Implementing agencies operating under the National Health Mission (NHM) and state health departments.
• Public health institutions including Health and Wellness Centers, District Hospitals, and Medical Colleges are the target beneficiaries.
• Urban local bodies are eligible for funding to establish health and wellness infrastructure in metropolitan areas.

★Benefits

• Systemic outcomes including the creation of critical care hospital blocks in 602 districts and 12 central institutions.
• Establishment of an integrated network of public health laboratories in all districts for rapid disease diagnosis.
• Expansion of primary healthcare through the strengthening of over 17,000 rural and 11,000 urban Health and Wellness Centers.
• Enhanced pandemic preparedness through the creation of new National Institutes for Virology and Bio-safety labs.
• Strengthened surveillance and research capabilities to detect and respond to emerging public health outbreaks.

▶Application Process

• State governments must conduct a gap analysis of their existing health infrastructure from the village to the district level.
• Detailed project proposals and Annual Implementation Plans are prepared by the states based on the mission's technical guidelines.
• The proposals are submitted to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for appraisal and administrative approval.
• Approved funds are disbursed to the state treasury for execution through designated construction and health agencies.
• Progress is monitored through a centralized dashboard, requiring states to upload physical and financial progress reports regularly.

₹ Budget Allocation

64180

Funding Ratio (Centre:State): Centrally Sponsored Scheme (60:40 for most states, 90:10 for NE/Hilly, 100% for UTs) with some Central Sector components

Historical Context

Launched post-COVID-19 to address the fragility of India's healthcare system exposed during the second wave in 2021.

Sub-Schemes

Challenges

• Acute shortage of specialized medical professionals and paramedics to man the new infrastructure
• Inter-state variation in health infrastructure readiness and implementation speed
• Ensuring the sustainability of high-end diagnostic equipment in rural settings

Reforms & Recommendations

• Incentivizing private sector participation in diagnostic data sharing
• Integrating traditional medicine (AYUSH) into the new diagnostic labs
• Mandatory rural service for post-graduate medical students to staff these centers

Performance Statistics

SDG Linkages

Constitutional Backing

Technology Used

Success Stories

Key Takeaways

• Targets 17,788 rural and 11,024 urban Health and Wellness Centres
• Establishes Integrated Public Health Labs in all 730 districts
• Sets up 5 Regional National Centres for Disease Control (NCDC)
• Creates 100-bed critical care hospital blocks in over 600 districts

Convergence Schemes

• Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)
• National Health Mission (NHM)
• Fifteenth Finance Commission Health Grants

Sector Tags