Union Health ministry revises fund requirements to Rs 6.04 lakh Crore from Rs 4.99 lakh Crore

New Delhi - The Health Ministry has revised Fund requirement to Rs 6.04 lakh Crore from Rs 4.99 lakh Crore for the period of the award of the Fifteenth Finance Commission -- from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

The 15th Finance Commission on Monday held a meeting with the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on the specific issues of revising the State Specific proposals of the Mnistry in light of the COVID-19 experience, exploring the possibility of back loading in the light of fiscal strain and consideration of the suggestions of the High Level Group of the XVFC on health by the Ministry.

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The Ministry after giving due consideration to the recommendations of the High Level Group of the XVFC on Health, and after partial back loading of the funds have prepared a revised requirement of Rs 6.04 lakh crores from the earlier requirement of Rs 4.99 lakh crores.

XVFC Chairman N K Singh announced that looking at the peculiar state of the pandemic, the Commission has decided to have a separate Chapter on Health in its final Report to the Government.

Dr Harsh Vardhan described his vision for the improvement of India's health sector and appreciated the Commission's decision to reprioritize the sector.

The Ministry in a detailed presentation to the Commission highlighted the National Health Policy (NHP) 2017 targets which include Increase public health expenditure to 2.5per cent of GDP, in a progressive manner, by 2025, Primary Health Expenditure to be 2/3rd of the total health expenditure

and Increase State sector health spending to more than 8 per cent of their budget by 2020.

The Ministry pointed out that presently 35 per cent of the public health expenditure is done by the Central Government and 65 per cent by the State Governments.

The pandemic has established the importance of the need to strengthen the public health sector, surveillance and public health management, preventive and promotive health care with special focus on urban health.

The Ministry also felt that there was a need to increase the allocation of MoHFW on year to year basis.

The Ministry has thus asked for additional resources to the tune of 0.4 percent of GDP per annum to the States which they felt would lead to significant progress towards achievement of the National Health Policy target.

The Commission agreed that there was a need to increase public sector health outlay and also to develop a professional cadre of health workers.

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