Q. What is the full form of NHM?

Ans.Â NHM stands for the National Health Mission. It is the Government of India's flagship public healthcare programme launched in 2005, comprising two sub-missions: the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM).

Q. What is the difference between NRHM and NUHM?

Ans.Â The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) focuses on improving healthcare services in rural and remote areas, while the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) aims to strengthen healthcare delivery in urban areas and slums. Together, they form the National Health Mission (NHM).

Q. What is the aim of the National Health Mission (NHM)?

Ans.Â The National Health Mission aims to improve access to quality healthcare by supporting maternal and child health, communicable and non-communicable disease management, mental health services, free medicines, free diagnostics, and primary healthcare infrastructure. It also supports initiatives such as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, ASHA workers, JSY, Nikshay Poshan Yojana, and PMMVY.

Q. What is the National Digital Health Mission?

Ans.Â The National Digital Health Mission is now known as the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). It works alongside NHM to digitise health records and provide ABHA IDs, enabling seamless access to healthcare services across public health facilities.

Q. What are the NHM helpline numbers?

Ans.Â The National Health Helpline can be reached by dialling 104, which provides assistance in local languages. The Ayushman Bharat Helpline is 14555 for additional healthcare-related support.

Q. How has NHM improved health indicators in India?

Ans.Â Since the launch of NHM, India has made significant progress in public health. The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) declined from 254 (SRS 2004â06) to 97 (SRS 2018â20), while the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) reduced from 58 (SRS 2005) to 28 (SRS 2020).

Q. When was the National Health Mission launched?

Ans.Â The National Health Mission was launched on 12 April 2005 as the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). In 2013, the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) was introduced, and together they became the National Health Mission (NHM).

Q. Where can I find National Health Mission recruitment notifications?

Ans.Â NHM recruitment notifications for Community Health Officers (CHOs), ANMs, doctors, and other healthcare positions are published on the official National Health Mission website as well as the respective State NHM portals.

Q. What are the key facts about the National Health Mission?

Ans.Â The National Health Mission was launched in 2005 and includes NRHM and NUHM as its two sub-missions. It has played a major role in improving maternal and child health outcomes, strengthening public healthcare infrastructure, and expanding access to essential health services across India.

Q. Where can I download the National Health Mission PDF?

Ans.Â Official NHM guidelines, annual reports, policy documents, and scheme frameworks can be downloaded from the National Health Mission and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare official websites.

National Health Mission (NHM) Scheme: India's Public Healthcare Program

Why Was the National Health Mission (NHM) Needed

According to SRS and RGI India, India's maternal and infant mortality rate in the year 2005 were 254 and 58 per lakh live births, respectively. Rural PHCs were also poorly resourced, and often nonfunctional. Public health facilities in urban slums were almost non-existent. For the majority of low income families, private health care was not affordable.

For this, NHM was introduced to invest in infrastructure, medicines, community level human resources to ensure quality healthcare, from village sub-centre to district level.

National Health Mission- Key Highlights

Feature	Details
Full Form	National Health Mission (NHM)
Launched By	Government of India
Year of Launch	2005
Sub-Missions	National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), National Urban Health Mission (NUHM)
NRHM Launch Year	2005
NUHM Launch Year	2013
Budget 2023-24	₹36,785 crore (Union Budget 2023-24)
ASHA Workers	10.5 lakh+ (NHM.gov.in)
Nodal Ministry	Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Key Programme	Ayushman Arogya Mandir (1.7 lakh+ centres)
Helpline	104 / 14555
Official Portal	nhm.gov.in

National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)- Strengthening Rural Healthcare

The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was introduced on 12th April, 2005 and 18 high focus states with poor health indicators like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, North East states etc. under the mission has following key interventions:

Enhancement of Sub-Centres, PHCs and CHCs
This translates to 10.5 lakh+ ASHA workers (NHM.gov.in) deployed.
Provide free essential medicines and diagnostics at public facilities.
Incentive for institutional delivery under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)
Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK)- free care for mothers and newborns

The results speak for themselves, MMR fell from 254 (2004-06) to 97 (2018-20) and IMR from 58 (2005) to 28 (2020) (SRS, RGI India).

National Urban Health Mission- Addressing Urban Health Gaps

The National Urban Health Mission (NUHM), which was added as NHM's second sub-mission in 2013, focuses on addressing the gaps in healthcare services caused by the rapid urbanisation, especially in slums and low income urban neighbourhoods. Key interventions include:

Establishment of Urban PHCs (UPHCs), Urban CHCs (UCHCs)
Utilization of urban ASHA and Mahila Arogya Samitis in slums
Control of communicable diseases, maternal health and NCDs among the urban poor
Expanding referral ties to District hospitals

The NUHM includes all state capitals, district headquarters and cities with a population exceeding 50,000 and now provide access for millions of families living in urban areas, who had no organised public health access before.

What Does the National Health Mission Cover

strong>Programme Areastrong>Key Interventions


Maternal Health	JSY, JSSK, PMMVY, SUMAN - free antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care
Child Health	Immunisation, RBSK (school health screening), nutrition support
Communicable Diseases	TB (Nikshay), malaria, dengue, leprosy, HIV/AIDS control
Non-Communicable Diseases	Screening for diabetes, hypertension, cancer at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs
Mental Health	District Mental Health Programme (DMHP)
Infrastructure	Sub-centres, PHCs, CHCs, District Hospitals upgraded nationwide
Human Resources	ASHA workers, ANMs, CHOs deployed at community level
Free Medicines	Essential medicines available free at all public facilities
Free Diagnostics	Basic diagnostics free at PHC and CHC level
Digital Health	Integration with Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

NHM and the National Digital Health Mission

The National Digital Health Mission (now the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)) collaborates with NHM to digitize health records in public facilities. The ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) number is issued to patients, allowing their healthcare records to be accessed easily by various healthcare providers. A patient attending a sub-centre in the rural area of Bihar can access his/her records at the district hospital without duplication, which enhances the continuity of care for the most marginalised groups in India.

Key Schemes Operating Under National Health Mission

NHM is not one scheme but an umbrella scheme where several critical health interventions are in place:

Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY): Cash rewards for institutional delivery, which has led to the sharp decline in maternal deaths since 2005.
Nikshay Poshan Yojana: Providing ₹1000 per month nutritional support to the TB patients under the TB elimination programme under NHM.
Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN): Up to ₹15 lakh single payment for BPL patients with life-threatening diseases in government super speciality hospitals.
Ayushman Arogya Mandir (AAM): Under Ayushman Bharat, Ayushman Arogya Mandir (AAM) has been created as the primary care pillar by providing 12 free health care service packages at all primary health centres, with 1.7 lakh+ of them upgraded.
Mission Vatsalya: Child protection and welfare services with health related activities to NHM's child health programmes for children in institutional care.
Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): Cash transfer of ₹5,000 directly to the pregnant and lactating mothers in addition to NHM's maternal health interventions.

NHM Helpline and Support

Support Type	Details
National Health Helpline	104 (24 hours, available in local languages)
Ayushman Bharat Helpline	14555
Official NHM Portal	nhm.gov.in
ABDM Portal	abdm.gov.in
Ministry of Health Portal	mohfw.gov.in
State NHM Offices	Available in every state - accessible via nhm.gov.in

In just over 20 years, the National Health Mission (NHM) has overhauled India's public health. Maternal deaths have reduced by over 60% (SRS, RGI India) since its inception, powered by over 10.5 lakh ASHA workers as first responders to millions. It revamped rural health via NRHM and urban care via NUHM, connecting all through ABDM to National Digital Health Mission.

NHM will always be at the root of the push for Universal Health Coverage, powered by Ayushman Arogya Mandir at the grassroot. Visit nhm.gov.in or dial 104 for more info on schemes specific to your state.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the full form of NHM?

Ans. NHM stands for the National Health Mission. It is the Government of India's flagship public healthcare programme launched in 2005, comprising two sub-missions: the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM).
Q. What is the difference between NRHM and NUHM?

Ans. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) focuses on improving healthcare services in rural and remote areas, while the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) aims to strengthen healthcare delivery in urban areas and slums. Together, they form the National Health Mission (NHM).
Q. What is the aim of the National Health Mission (NHM)?

Ans. The National Health Mission aims to improve access to quality healthcare by supporting maternal and child health, communicable and non-communicable disease management, mental health services, free medicines, free diagnostics, and primary healthcare infrastructure. It also supports initiatives such as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, ASHA workers, JSY, Nikshay Poshan Yojana, and PMMVY.
Q. What is the National Digital Health Mission?

Ans. The National Digital Health Mission is now known as the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). It works alongside NHM to digitise health records and provide ABHA IDs, enabling seamless access to healthcare services across public health facilities.
Q. What are the NHM helpline numbers?

Ans. The National Health Helpline can be reached by dialling 104, which provides assistance in local languages. The Ayushman Bharat Helpline is 14555 for additional healthcare-related support.
Q. How has NHM improved health indicators in India?

Ans. Since the launch of NHM, India has made significant progress in public health. The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) declined from 254 (SRS 2004–06) to 97 (SRS 2018–20), while the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) reduced from 58 (SRS 2005) to 28 (SRS 2020).
Q. When was the National Health Mission launched?

Ans. The National Health Mission was launched on 12 April 2005 as the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). In 2013, the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) was introduced, and together they became the National Health Mission (NHM).
Q. Where can I find National Health Mission recruitment notifications?

Ans. NHM recruitment notifications for Community Health Officers (CHOs), ANMs, doctors, and other healthcare positions are published on the official National Health Mission website as well as the respective State NHM portals.
Q. What are the key facts about the National Health Mission?

Ans. The National Health Mission was launched in 2005 and includes NRHM and NUHM as its two sub-missions. It has played a major role in improving maternal and child health outcomes, strengthening public healthcare infrastructure, and expanding access to essential health services across India.
Q. Where can I download the National Health Mission PDF?

Ans. Official NHM guidelines, annual reports, policy documents, and scheme frameworks can be downloaded from the National Health Mission and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare official websites.

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