What is Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMASBY) Scheme?

Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMASBY) Scheme

The Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana or PMASBY is one of the largest health infrastructures in the country that has been backed by the Government of India. This is also known as PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission and was launched on 25th October 2021 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This Atmanirbhar Bharat Scheme was launched with an aim to make the health infrastructure of India stronger along with the National Health Mission. Let us get into a bit length and try to know about PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana.

What is Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana?

This is the latest health infrastructure scheme backed by the Government of India to provide the citizens of the country with better healthcare facilities. This scheme was first announced on 1st February 2021 by the central government in the 2021-2022 budget session at the parliament. It was then approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2021. The outlay approved for the scheme was INR 64,180 crore for the next six years.

Objectives of Prime Minister Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana

The objectives of the Prime Minister Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana are mentioned herein below:

• Uplifts the capacity of primary health care systems that were established within the topographical boundaries of India.
• Ensures better medical support and improved healthcare facilities in the country.
• Adds fuel to the current institutions in the country.
• To start many health care centers as well as hospitals across the country so that the citizens of India can have access to advanced healthcare services.
• Streamlining the primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare systems.
• Making the country progress in the field of health and wellness.

Features of Prime Minister Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana

Some of the salient features of Prime Minister Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana are as follows:

• This is a completely new scheme that was announced during the Union Budget, 2021 by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
• The scheme includes a provision of INR 2.23 lakh which is related to health services
• Investigation centres in all the Indian districts are being established
• A total outlay of INR 64,180 crores have been approved which will be spent in the upcoming six years
• This scheme is focusing on establishing critical care hospital blocks in12 central institutions and in 602 districts
• This scheme provides support to around 11,000 urban health and wellness centres and 17,000 rural health centres
• 3383 public health units have been established in 11 states in the country
• Investigation centres have been established in all districts of India
• The scheme aims at overseeing and strengthening 20 metropolitan health surveillance units and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) along with its five regional branches.

Benefits of PMASBY

Prime Minister Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana comes with its own set of benefits for the citizens of India. Let us take a quick look at PMASBY benefits:

• This scheme is going to provide support to around 17,788 health and wellness centres in 10 Indian states that are already existing
• Under this scheme, around 11,024 health and wellness centres are going to be set up in each state in the country
• The scheme will be providing critical care services through critical care hospital blocks in several districts in India with more than 5 lakh population
• The critical care services are going to be provided on a referral basis with a population that is lesser than 5 lakhs
• Under this scheme, diagnostic  services will be provided to people in several laboratories in the country
• People will have access to an integrated health information portal which will connect all the public health laboratories in the Indian states and Union Territories
• Under three phases of this scheme, around 157 medical colleges are going to be established. Among these 157, 63 medical colleges have already started operating
• Under this scheme, frontline workers will be trained to come up with a workforce that is capable of responding to any kind of public health emergency.

How is the PMASBY Scheme going to expand the healthcare infrastructure in India?

Under Prime Minister Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana, the Government of India is going to expand the healthcare infrastructure in the country. And they are going to do it by building:

• Four national institutes for virology
• One national institution for one health
• Nine biosafety level 3 laboratories
• Five Regional National Centre for Disease Control
• One regional research platform for the Southeast Asia region of WHO.

It is expected that Prime Minister Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana will enhance the healthcare infrastructure of the country in the future. Along with people living in urban areas, now the people from rural places will also have access to better healthcare services in India. More numbers of medical colleges are going to get started very soon and we can expect to get our medical treatment easily.

Also, when we talk about healthcare services and medical treatment, it is wise to buy a health insurance plan at the earliest in life. Once you have a health insurance policy, you can get your treatment done at one of the best hospitals in the country without worrying about finances.

Also Read: Government Health Insurance Plans and Schemes for Senior Citizens