New Delhi – The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, said the Union Budget 2021 is ‘remarkable’ 137% increase for health and wellbeing sector.He hailed and said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced health and wellbeing as the first pillar of the economy.
“During the press conference post-budget, Health Minister said, “FM spoke of 6 prominent pillar , with the topmost pillar being health and well being .Investment in the health sector has risen 137% which is 2.37 times more than our last year’s Budget estimates.This is an achievement in its own.”
“The focus on strengthening three areas – Preventive health, curative health and well-being with Total Allocation to Health Sector being Rs 2,23,846 Crore will be of immense help to the country at this critical juncture.” He stated
According to the Union Health Minister, “The National Centre for Disease Control will now have 5 regional branches and 20 metropolitan health surveillance units. The experiences of the country’s yearlong fight with COVID have shaped the Union Budget. This will give a tremendous boost to India’s health infrastructure”. He thereafter detailed the huge increase in scope of Public Health which includes the expansion of integrated health information portal to all States/UTs to connect all public health labs, operationalization of 17 new public health units and strengthening of 33 existing public health units at points of entry that is 32 airports, 11 seaports and 7 land crossings, setting up of 15 health emergency operation centers and two mobile hospitals, the setting up of a National Institution for One Health regional research platform for WHO South East Asia region office and 9 Bio-safety Level III laboratories and 4 Regional institutes on the lines of National Institute of Virology.
