The Indian government will invest Rs 36,785 crore in the National Health Mission (NHM) this year, which is a Rs 375 crore decrease of one percent from Rs 37,160 crore budgeted in 2022-2023.

These numbers were released in the Union Budget 2023 after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's presentation of it in front of the Parliament on Wednesday.

In FY23, the finance ministry revised its earlier estimate of Rs 37,160 crore to Rs 33,708 crore in the Budget announcement this year. Expenditure on the mission for 2021-22 (actual) was Rs 32,958 crore.

During her speech, Sitharaman also set a new deadline of 2047 to eliminate sickle cell anaemia, which is a widespread disease in India. Overall health expenditure allocation was hiked by 2.7 percent this year by the finance ministry.

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In September 2022, India won an award from the United Nations for its large-scale initiative against hypertension under the NHM which is chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

Launched in 2005 under the former Congress government, the National Health Mission assumed the role of the two separate National Urban Health Mission and National Rural Health Mission and converted them into sub missions.

What does the National Health Mission do?

The NHM includes programs focusing on both communicable and non-communicable diseases and on reproductive, maternal, neonatal and adolescent health. It aims to strengthen India's health system by providing all citizens universal access to equitable, affordable and quality health care.

The NHM provides a range of free services to citizens while also providing support to states and Union territories (UT) to set up new facilities.

Menstrual hygiene, iron folic acid supplementation, deworming, pneumonia neutralisation and family planning are just some of the fields in which the NHM works on.

The mission also deploys and trains the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, one million of who were honoured by the World Health Organisation in May 2022.

Payment for ASHA workers differ from state to state as a portion of the NHM's budget allocation is directed towards states and UTs.

For LIVE updates on the Budget 2023 and Finance Nirmala Sitharaman's speech, click here.

First Published:Feb 1, 2023 4:53 PM IST