Union Health Minister Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda conducted a comprehensive review of the progress made on key health sector initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2026-27, emphasizing timely implementation, inter-ministerial coordination, and delivery of measurable outcomes within defined timelines.
District Hospital Strengthening
The initiative to increase emergency and trauma care capacity in District Hospitals by 50% through establishment and strengthening of Emergency and Trauma Care Centres has advanced significantly. Following a post-Budget webinar, three committees were constituted to examine infrastructure, drugs, diagnostics and quality; human resources, academic expansion and skilling; and digital architecture and pre-hospital integration. A comprehensive gap analysis of District Hospitals against Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) has been completed, resulting in the categorization of 613 District Hospitals for phased implementation. Phase I targets 160 District Hospitals for strengthening by March 2027, selected based on patient load, infrastructure and overall readiness. Phase II will cover 203 District Hospitals, while Phase III will address the remaining 250 hospitals.
Workforce Development Initiatives
The Allied Health Professionals (AHP) ecosystem strengthening aims to add 1 lakh AHPs over five years across 10 selected disciplines. Consultations have been undertaken with industry, State Governments, institutions, hospitals, implementing agencies and regulatory bodies. A draft Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) note has been prepared and circulated to concerned Ministries and NITI Aayog. A meeting chaired by the Finance Minister on July 27, 2026, discussed funding options including feasible Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models.
The care ecosystem initiative involves NSQF-aligned training of 1.5 lakh multiskilled caregivers in the coming year, covering areas including wellness, yoga and operation of medical and assistive devices. Training has already commenced with initial batches trained, and the Department of Health & Family Welfare is collaborating with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to scale up training and strengthen availability of trained caregivers nationwide.
Research and Regulatory Strengthening
Biopharma SHAKTI, a ₹500-crore initiative, aims to create a network of over 1,000 accredited clinical trial sites through consultations with industry stakeholders, sensitization meetings with medical colleges, and clinical-trial training workshops. The program envisages a hub-and-spoke trial-site network, strengthened data and digital systems, a central trial facilitation agency and site accreditation framework.
For the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) strengthening initiative, an Expert Committee has submitted its report finalizing the workforce structure, number of positions, pay levels, and permanent/flexible mix at different levels to meet global standards and approval timeframes through a dedicated scientific review cadre and specialist workforce.
Mental Healthcare Infrastructure
Mental healthcare initiatives include the establishment of NIMHANS-II with a planned capacity of 1,000 beds, for which an Expert Committee has submitted its report. The upgradation of Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP), Ranchi and Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health (LGBRIMH), Tezpur as Regional Apex Institutions will include advanced psychiatry, neurology and neurosurgery facilities, along with enhanced research, training and academic capacities. NIMHANS, Bengaluru will provide immediate mentoring to both institutions to address administrative, institutional, academic, research, clinical and community integration gaps.
Medical Value Tourism
Five Regional Medical Hubs are proposed to promote India as a global destination for medical value tourism, integrating medical, educational and research facilities with AYUSH Centres, Medical Value Tourism Facilitation Centres, diagnostics, post-care and rehabilitation infrastructure. Five priority disease areas—dyslipidaemia, generalized anxiety disorder, cardiovascular diseases, insomnia and osteoarthritis—have been identified for evidence-based integrative treatment protocols. Consultations have been held with NATHEALTH, FICCI, Services Export Promotion Council, Invest India, NABH and QCI, along with capacity-building workshops including a regional workshop in Hyderabad.
Implementation Framework
The Minister emphasized that all initiatives require sustained coordination between departments, Ministries, States, institutions and stakeholders, with focus on time-bound implementation, regular monitoring, and inter-ministerial coordination centered on clearly defined deliverables and measurable outcomes. The initiatives collectively seek to strengthen emergency and trauma care, allied healthcare and caregiving workforce, drug regulatory capacity, clinical research and biopharmaceutical capabilities, mental healthcare, medical education and specialized healthcare infrastructure.