India to have 1.5L Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres by Dec

New Delhi, Aug 6: A total of 1.5 lakh Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres will be available to serve the people by the end of December, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday in the Upper House. Mandaviya said this while replying to a discussion on the Right to Health Bill, 2021.

The private member bill was introduced by RJD MP Manoj Jha. Mandaviya said that the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, with an outlay of Rs 64,000 crore over the next five years, will take India's public health facilities and infrastructure to new heights.

"These centres would also conduct yoga classes for wellness twice a week. Kids would be vaccinated and pregnant women's health conditions would be monitored. These would have test facilities for non-communicable diseases," he added.

These would have facilities for screening of oral cancer, cervical cancer and breast cancer. The government is working to make healthcare accessible and affordable for the common people, Mandaviya added.

The Minister further said: "When the NDA government come to power in 2014, the budget for the health sector was Rs 33,000 crore, which has increased substantially. We have increased the health budget to 58 per cent to reach at Rs 52 thousand crore in 2018-19, Rs 62 thousand crore in 2019-20, Rs 71 thousand crore in 21-22 and Rs 83 thousand crore in 2022-23".

"We have decided to take it to 2.5 per cent in the coming years", he said.