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The recently launched PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, with an outlay of over 64,000 crore, according to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, is aimed at filling critical gaps in public health infrastructure, particularly in critical care and primary care facilities in both urban and rural areas.

The Minister stated at a press conference that the Mission will equip the health-care sector to deal with future outbreaks.

"COVID-19 has given us the opportunity to improve healthcare facilities across the board, including laboratories, hospitals, and diagnostic centres," the Minister stated.

Dr. Mandaviya mentioned that 134 different sorts of tests will be done for free at the district level as one of the core components of the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission.

For the first time in Asia, he claimed, two container-based hospitals will be stationed in Chennai and Delhi, equipped with extensive medical services and ready to be quickly mobilised by rail or air to respond to any crisis or disaster in the country.

“Mission initiatives, like as point-of-entry strengthening, will ring fence our borders against the introduction of new infectious illnesses and pathogens. Health Emergency Operation Centers and container-based mobile hospitals will continue to expand their capacities for effective emergency response during such times," he said.

The Minister stated that the pandemic demonstrated the importance of ensuring regular medical services, and that the development of critical care hospital blocks in 602 districts, as proposed under the scheme, will make the districts self-sufficient in providing comprehensive treatment for infectious diseases without disrupting other essential health services, as well as augment critical care capacity in public health facilities.

India's healthcare infrastructure is predicted to undergo a paradigm change and become more resilient as a result of the Mission. Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres, of which over 79,000 are presently operational, are being built to ensure better primary healthcare facilities. Furthermore, work has begun to ensure that each district has at least one medical college, with the government having already sanctioned 157 medical colleges, according to the Minister.

“The Mission aims to produce robust public health outcomes, leapfrogging India to one of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of managing public health outbreaks,” said the Minister, adding that the components, such as the establishment of the National Platform for One Health and the establishment of a Division for Research on Disease Elimination Sciences and Health as a satellite centre of the National Institute of Health, will help India become one of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of managing public health outbreaks.

He also stated that the planned interventions will result in the availability of adequately educated staff to assist in the diagnosis and research of emerging infections and biological threats, hence reducing reliance on foreign partners and laboratories.