Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission
“Swasth Bharat, Surakshit Bharat – building a healthcare system that doesn’t just treat illness, but prepares for emergencies like COVID-19.”
🧭 What is ABHIM and Why Was It Needed?
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed one harsh truth — India’s health system was not adequately prepared for such a large-scale health crisis.
There was a need for:
- More hospitals
- Faster disease detection
- Stronger health surveillance
- Disaster preparedness infrastructure
➡️ ABHIM was launched in 2021 to fill these gaps — not just reactively treat diseases, but proactively prepare the entire system.
🔷 Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
| Purpose | Build a future-ready public health infrastructure to handle epidemics/pandemics |
| Type | Centrally Sponsored Scheme (with some Central Sector components) |
| Tenure | 6 years (2021–2026) |
| Initial Name | PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PM-ASBY) |
| Budget | ₹64,180 crore |
🎯 Objectives: What Is the Scheme Trying to Achieve?
- Strengthen Grassroots Infrastructure – So that even the remotest villages get primary healthcare (through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs).
- Tackle Current and Future Pandemics – By equipping hospitals and labs with modern resources.
- Digital Disease Surveillance System – So that we detect outbreaks early and respond faster.
- Promote Pandemic Research – Especially adopting the One Health Approach, which links human, animal, and environmental health.
💡 “One Health” = If we want to prevent future pandemics, we can’t look at human health in isolation. Animal health and environmental factors matter too.
🧱 Salient Features
Let’s divide the components into two broad parts
I. Centrally Sponsored Scheme Components
A. Ayushman Arogya Mandirs in Rural and Urban India
- Rural: Infrastructure support in 7 High Focus States (e.g., Bihar, UP, Odisha) + 3 North Eastern States.
- Urban: 11,044 Urban Health & Wellness Centres across India.
B. Block Public Health Units (BPHUs)
- 3,382 BPHUs in 11 High Focus States and UTs.
- For other States, funds come through 15th Finance Commission health grants.
📌 These units act as mini public health offices that connect villages to district-level health infrastructure.
C. Integrated District Public Health Labs
- These labs will be established in every district — to quickly test and detect disease outbreaks.
D. Critical Care Hospital Blocks
- Will be set up in districts with more than 5 lakh population, ideally in existing govt. medical colleges or district hospitals.
- These blocks will have ICUs, oxygen support, isolation wards — facilities crucial during pandemics.
II. Central Sector Components (Fully Funded by Centre)
These components are at national or strategic levels.
A. Critical Care Blocks in 12 Central Institutions
- E.g., AIIMS, PGIMER, JIPMER — for handling critical COVID-like situations at the national level.
B. Emergency Preparedness Infrastructure
- 15 Health Emergency Operation Centres
- 2 Mobile Container-Based Hospitals — which can be quickly deployed in disaster zones.
C. Advanced Surveillance Infrastructure
- 20 Metropolitan Surveillance Units
- 5 Regional National Centres for Disease Control (NCDCs)
- Rollout of IHIP (Integrated Health Information Platform) in all states for digital disease tracking.
D. Points of Entry Health Surveillance
- New health check-posts at 17 airports/ports/land borders, plus upgrading 33 existing ones.
This help stop the import of infectious diseases into the country.
E. One Health and Pandemic Research Infrastructure
- Establish:
- National Institution for One Health
- Regional Research Platform for WHO-SE Asia region
- 9 BSL-III (Bio-Safety Level III) Labs – for studying dangerous pathogens
- 4 New Regional NIVs (National Institute of Virology)
🛠 How is ABHIM Different from NHM?
This question is important for Mains.
- NHM focuses on routine health service delivery.
- ABHIM is about infrastructure building, surveillance, and pandemic readiness — complementary, but with different focus.
- ABHIM does not replace NHM, but adds strength to it.
🧵 In Summary
“ABHIM is like building a security system before the thief comes.”
- It is India’s answer to future pandemics.
- It strengthens health systems from village to metro, builds labs, hospitals, disease tracking, and emergency response systems.
- And it brings in the One Health vision — recognizing that preventing the next pandemic starts beyond hospitals — in farms, forests, and air travel routes.