Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (FM Nirmala Sitharaman) has presented the country’s budget for the year 2023-24 on February 1. In the last and full budget (Budget 2023-24), there has been an increase of about 13 percent in the allocation for the health sector. In this budget, the government has promised to get rid of many diseases from the country by the year 2047. Know what is special….
Budget increased by 13 percent in health sector
In the Union Budget 2023-24, Rs 89,155 crore has been allocated for the health sector, which is about 13 percent more than the amount of Rs 79,145 crore allocated in 2022-23. The budget allocation for the Ministry of AYUSH has been increased from Rs 2,845.75 crore to Rs 3,647.50 crore, an increase of 28 per cent. Out of Rs 89,155 crore allocated to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Rs 86,175 crore has been allocated in the budget, while Rs 2,980 crore has been allocated to the Department of Health Research.
Government promised to end anemia
The Finance Minister said that a mission has also been announced to eradicate the disease called ‘Sickle Cell Anemia’ by 2047. Sickle cell is a genetic disease. It will provide awareness generation, universal screening of 7 crore people in the age group of 0-40 years in the affected tribal areas, and counseling through the efforts of Central Ministries and State Governments.
Medical colleges will be set up in the country
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that 157 new nursing colleges will be set up in addition to the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014. To encourage collaborative research, faculty members from public and private medical colleges and private sector research and development teams will be provided facilities in selected laboratories of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for research.
Health protection scheme got allocated
For this new financial year, the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) has been divided into two sub-schemes. The first is the PMSSY itself and the second plan covers the expenditure related to setting up 22 new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Rs 6,835 crore has been allocated for this. The budget allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana for the year 2023-2024 is Rs 3,365 croreAmong these central sector schemes, the National Health Mission’s budget allocation has been increased from Rs 28,974.29 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 29,085.26 crore in 2023-24.
It has been increased from Rs 6,412 crore to Rs 7,200 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
NHM got allocation
The allocation for the National Digital Health Mission (NHM) has been increased from Rs 140 crore to Rs 341.02 crore. The budget allocation for the National Tele-mental Health Program has been increased from Rs 121 crore to Rs 133.73 crore. The budget allocation for autonomous bodies has been increased from Rs 10,348.17 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 17,322.55 crore in 2023-24.
