National Health Programmes and Missions in India

India’s public healthcare architecture rests on a network of centrally sponsored missions, national disease control initiatives, and universal health protection frameworks. Coordinated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare alongside state health departments, these interventions address communicable and non-communicable diseases, maternal and child survival, digital health records, and emergency health infrastructure. The national policy framework aligns with the National Health Policy 2017 target to increase public health spending to 2.5% of Gross Domestic Product.

National Health Mission (NHM) and Its Components

The National Health Mission serves as the main umbrella program for public health delivery across rural and urban areas.

National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)

• Launched in April 2005 to deliver accessible and affordable primary care to rural populations, particularly vulnerable communities.
• Deploys Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) as female community health volunteers serving as the primary link between rural households and health facilities.
• Creates a decentralized three-tier healthcare delivery network made up of Sub-Centres (now converted to Ayushman Arogya Mandirs), Primary Health Centres (PHCs), and Community Health Centres (CHCs).

National Urban Health Mission (NUHM)

• Launched in 2013 to address the healthcare needs of urban poor and slum dwellers.
• Targets state capitals, district headquarters, and towns with a population of 50,000 and above.
• Functions through Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHCs) and Urban Community Health Centres (UCHCs) to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Disease Control Flexi-Pools

• Operates a flexible pool for communicable diseases combining vector-borne, tuberculosis, leprosy, and viral hepatitis control schemes.
• Operates a non-communicable disease flexible pool under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) to screen diabetes, hypertension, and common cancers.

Ayushman Bharat Ecosystem and Infrastructure Missions

Launched in 2018, the Ayushman Bharat scheme moves India toward Universal Health Coverage through primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)

• Provides a health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.
• Covers over 12 crore poor and vulnerable families identified via socio-economic criteria from the SECC 2011 database.
• Expanded to provide a distinct ₹5 lakh annual health cover to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, regardless of income.
• Functions on a fully cashless and paperless basis across empanelled public and private hospitals nationwide.

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

• Creates the digital backbone for the national healthcare ecosystem through unique Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) IDs.
• Connects electronic health records across doctors, hospitals, labs, and pharmacies to support digital health interoperability.
• Operates the eSanjeevani platform, the national teleconsultation service delivering remote medical advice to rural populations.

PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM)

• Launched in October 2021 with an outlay of ₹64,180 crore to strengthen long-term healthcare infrastructure.
• Funds critical care hospital blocks in all districts with a population above 5 lakh.
• Establishes regional National Institutes for Virology, integrated public health labs, and biosafety level facilities to combat future pandemics.

Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH+N)

Maternal and child health programs aim to reduce the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR).

Universal Immunisation Programme and Mission Indradhanush

• The Universal Immunisation Programme provides free vaccines against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases nationally and regionally.
• Mission Indradhanush was launched in December 2014 to cover unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children and pregnant women.
• The U-WIN portal acts as the digital registry tracking vaccination schedules, doses, and digital certificates for children and mothers.

Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and JSSK

• Janani Suraksha Yojana provides direct cash assistance to low-income pregnant women to promote institutional delivery over home delivery.
• Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) entitles pregnant women and sick newborns to completely free delivery, C-sections, drugs, diagnostics, blood, and transport in public facilities.
• Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) offers free antenatal check-ups by specialists on the 9th day of every month.

Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK)

• Focuses on early screening and early intervention for children from birth to 18 years.
• Targets four key domains: Defects at birth, Diseases, Deficiencies, and Development delays including disability (4Ds).

Specific Disease Elimination Missions

National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP)

• Targets the elimination of tuberculosis in India by 2025, five years ahead of the global Sustainable Development Goal target of 2030.
• Uses the Ni-kshay digital portal for real-time case tracking, monitoring, and direct benefit transfer of nutrition support.
• Operates the Ni-kshay Mitra initiative, enabling social donors to adopt TB patients and provide monthly nutritional and diagnostic support.

National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP)

• Oversees prevention and control of six vector-borne diseases: Malaria, Lymphatic Filariasis, Kala-azar, Dengue, Chikungunya, and Japanese Encephalitis.
• Targets the elimination of Kala-azar (Visceral Leishmaniasis) and Lymphatic Filariasis using mass drug administration.

National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission

• Launched in July 2023 from Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, to eliminate sickle cell disease by 2047.
• Focuses on universal screening of 7 crore tribal individuals aged 0 to 40 years across 17 high-prevalence states.
• Issues digital health cards detailing genetic trait status (carrier or diseased) to guide pre-marital genetic counseling.

Key National Health Schemes Matrix

Key Facts

• National Health Mission (NHM) combines two sub-missions: National Rural Health Mission (2005) and National Urban Health Mission (2013).
• Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) are community health workers deployed under NRHM at a ratio of roughly 1 per 1,000 rural residents.
• Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY is the world’s largest government-funded health assurance scheme, covering over 500 million beneficiaries.
• Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) use a unique 14-digit identification number to store digital health records.
• The eSanjeevani platform is the largest national telemedicine network in the world, facilitating doctor-to-doctor and patient-to-doctor teleconsultations.
• India set a national target to eliminate Tuberculosis by 2025 under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme.
• The National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission targets complete elimination of the disease by 2047.
• Mission Indradhanush was launched in December 2014 to boost full immunization coverage to over 90 percent.
• Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram guarantees zero out-of-pocket expenditure for pregnant women delivering in government health facilities.
• National Health Policy 2017 targets reducing the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) to 28 per 1,000 live births and Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to 100 per 100,000 live births.