Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, one of the largest pan-India schemes for strengthening healthcare infrastructure, from his parliamentary constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on Monday.
The prime minister also inaugurated various development projects worth more than Rs 5,200 crore for his constituency.
The Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission is one of the largest pan-India schemes for strengthening healthcare infrastructure across the country. It is in addition to the National Health Mission.
Its objective is to fill gaps in public health infrastructure, especially in critical care facilities and primary care in both urban and rural areas. It will provide support for 17,788 rural health and wellness centres in 10 high focus states. Further, 11,024 urban health and wellness centres will be established in all the states.
Through this, critical care services will be available in all the districts of the country with more than five lakh population through exclusive critical care hospital blocks, while the remaining districts will be covered through referral services.
People will have access to a full range of diagnostic services in the public healthcare system through a network of laboratories across the country, and integrated public health labs will be set up in all the districts.
Under the scheme, a national institution for one health, four new national institutes for virology, a regional research platform for WHO South East Asia Region, nine biosafety level-III laboratories, five new regional national centre for disease control will be set up.
Earlier in the day, the prime minister inaugurated nine medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh virtually from Siddharthnagar.
Built at a cost of Rs 2,329 crore, the medical colleges inaugurated on Monday are located in Siddharthnagar, Etah, Hardoi, Pratapgarh, Fatehpur, Deoria, Ghazipur, Mirzapur and Jaunpur districts.
While eight medical colleges have been sanctioned under a Centrally sponsored scheme for establishment of new medical colleges attached with district or referral hospitals, the one in Jaunpur has been made functional by the state government through its own resources.
Also read: PM Modi inaugurates 9 new medical colleges in UP built at Rs 2,329 crore cost