1.5 L Ayushman wellness centres proposed by 2022

New Delhi, Jan. 31: To promote preventive healthcare, 1.5 lakh Ayushman Bharat Health & Wellness Centres are proposed to be set up by 2022, according to the Economic Survey

2019-20.

The Survey was tabled in Parliament on Friday by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. A total of

28,005 such centres have already been set up as on January 14, 2020, it added.

“Under Mission Indradhanush, 3.39 crore children and 87.18 lakh pregnant women in 680 districts across the country have been vaccinated," the Survey noted. New vaccines such as MeaslesRubella (MR), Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, Rotavirus Vaccine and Inactivated Polio Vaccine have also been introduced, it added.

“As per the latest National Health Accounts (NHA) 2016-17, the out of pocket expenditure as a percentage of total health expenditure has declined from 64.2 per cent in 201314 to 58.7 per cent in 201617,” the Survey said. Primary healthcare accounts for 52.1 per cent of India’s current public expenditure on health as per the National Health Estimates, 2016-17. The

National Health Policy, 2017 recommended to spend at least two thirds of the government’s health expenditure on primary healthcare, it added.

“Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), the health insurance scheme, is a major step towards providing affordable healthcare to the identified poor,” the Survey said.

The scheme has been rolled out based on the deprivation and occupational criteria of the Socio-Economic Caste Census for rural and urban areas, respectively, it added.