Budget 2024: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been allocated Rs 90,658.63 crore in the interim Budget for 2024-2025. The Ministry has witnessed a hike of 12.59 per cent over 80,517.62 crore in the Budget (revised estimates) for 2023-2024.
On Thursday, Finance Minister Sitharaman tabled the interim budget 2024 ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections. During her budget speech, Sitharaman announced that healthcare cover under the Ayushman Bharat insurance scheme will be extended to all ASHA and anganwadi workers and helpers.
Sitharaman also said the government plans to set up more medical colleges by utilising existing hospital infrastructure and will form a committee to examine the issues and make relevant recommendations.
Out of Rs 90,658.63 crore, Rs 87,656.90 crore has been allocated to the Department of Health and Family Welfare while Rs 3001.73 crore to the Department of Health Research. The Budget allocation for the AYUSH ministry has been hiked from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 3,712.49 crore, recording a 23.74 per cent increase.
Sitharaman also announced that the government will encourage vaccination for girls in the 9-14 year age group for the prevention of cervical cancer.
Additionally, various schemes for maternal and child healthcare will be brought under one comprehensive programme for synergy in implementation. The newly designed U-WIN platform for immunisation and intensified efforts of the Mission Indradhanush will be rolled out throughout the country.
The budget allocation for centrally sponsored schemes has been increased from Rs 77,624.79 crore to Rs 87,656.90 crore. Among these centrally sponsored schemes, the budget allocation for the National Health Mission has been increased from Rs 31,550.87 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 31,967 crore in 2024-25 and the allocation for Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (PM-JAY) hiked from Rs 6,800 crore to Rs 7,500 crore. The allocation for National Digital Health Mission has been increased from Rs 200 crore to Rs 250 crore.
For the National Tele-Mental Health Programme, the Budget allocation has been increased from Rs 65 crore to Rs 100 crore. The allocation for autonomous bodies increased from Rs 17,250.90 crore in 2023-2024 to Rs 18,005.65 crore in 2024-25. Among the autonomous bodies, the allocation for AIIMS, New Delhi has been increased from Rs 4,278 crore to 4,523 crore. The allocation for the ICMR has been increased from 2295.12 crore to Rs 2432.13 crore.
In FY2023-24, the expenditure of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was estimated to be Rs 89,155 crore, a 13 percent increase from revised estimates for 2022-23. The National Health Mission is its largest component, accounting for 33 percent of the Ministry’s budget, and medical colleges and hospitals account for 27 percent of the budget. High out-of-pocket expenditures and a shortage of healthcare personnel continues to be major issues.
