PMASBY: Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana

What is PMASBY Scheme All About?

The PMASBY or the Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana is a new government health infrastructure scheme launched to provide better access to healthcare facilities to people in India. It was first announced by the central government on 1^st February 2021 in the 2021-22 Budget session of the Parliament. It was further approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2021 with a total outlay of Rs 64,180 crore for the next six years. The scheme will benefit the people across India.

What is the Objective of the PMASBY Scheme?

The main objective of the Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMASBY) is to fill up the existing gaps in public health infrastructure, especially in primary and critical care facilities, in both rural and urban areas. It also aims to develop a network of surveillance laboratories in metropolitan areas at block, district, regional and national levels to build an IT-enabled disease surveillance system.

The PMASBY scheme also aims to strengthen 33 existing public health units as well as operationalize 17 new public health units at entry points. This will help the government to effectively prevent, detect, investigate and combat disease outbreaks and public health emergencies.

Moreover, the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission also aims to effectively utilize the existing infrastructure of district hospitals, correct the existing unevenness in the distribution of medical colleges and increase the availability of health professionals in India.

How Will PMASBY Scheme Benefit the People?

The Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMASBY) will benefit Indian citizens across the country in the following ways:

• The PMASBY scheme will provide support to about 17,788 existing rural health and wellness centres across 10 states of high focus.
• About 11,024 health and wellness centres in urban areas will also be set up under this scheme in all the states.
• It will provide critical care services via exclusive critical care hospital blocks in all Indian districts with over 5 lakh population.
• Critical care services will be provided on a referral basis in districts with a population of less than 5 lakh.
• A full range of diagnostic services will be available to people under the public healthcare system through a network of laboratories across India.
• An integrated health information portal that connects all public health laboratories will be expanded to all states and union territories in India under this scheme.
• As many as 157 new medical colleges have been approved for the country under the three phases of this scheme. Amongst these, 63 medical colleges are already operating.
• Under the PMASBY scheme, frontline health workers will also be trained to build a workforce capable to respond to any public health emergency.

How Will the PMASBY Scheme Expand the Healthcare Infrastructure of the Country?

The government will set up the following under the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission to expand the healthcare infrastructure in India:

• 1 National Institution for One Health
• 4 National Institutes for Virology
• 9 Biosafety Level 3 Laboratories
• 1 regional research platform for the Southeast Asia region of WHO
• 5 Regional National Centre for Disease Control

In a Nutshell

The Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana will improve the healthcare infrastructure in India substantially. People will have better access to healthcare services in both rural and urban areas. Moreover, the PMASBY scheme will also set up more number of medical colleges for medical students and also enable healthcare professionals to become better prepared to deal with public health emergencies in future.