The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, under the National Health Mission (NHM), provides technical and financial support to States and Union Territories (UTs) to strengthen public healthcare infrastructure in rural areas. This includes measures to retain healthcare professionals based on proposals submitted as Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs). Financial approval is granted in the form of Record of Proceedings (RoPs), as per established norms and available resources.
The NHM provides various incentives to encourage healthcare professionals, including female practitioners, to work in rural and remote areas. These include a hard area allowance for specialist doctors and support for residential quarters to attract professionals to public health facilities in such locations.
Honorarium is provided to gynaecologists, Emergency Obstetric Care (EmoC) trained specialists, paediatricians, and anaesthetists trained in Life-Saving Anaesthesia Skills (LSAS) to improve the availability of specialists for caesarean sections in rural and remote areas. Additional incentives include special allowances for doctors, compensation for Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) for timely antenatal check-ups, and incentives for conducting adolescent reproductive and sexual health activities.
States have the flexibility to offer negotiable salaries to attract specialists through the “You Quote, We Pay” strategy. Non-monetary incentives, such as preferential admission in postgraduate courses for those serving in difficult areas and improved accommodation facilities in rural areas, are also included under NHM.
To address the shortage of specialists, NHM supports the multi-skilling of doctors and skill upgradation of existing human resources. These strategies are aimed at improving health outcomes by enhancing the availability of trained personnel in underserved areas.
Beyond NHM, the Government of India has implemented additional initiatives to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. The Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) focuses on increasing investments in public health to improve access to healthcare. This includes the strengthening of Health and Wellness Centres, addition of critical care-related beds in district hospitals, support for Block Public Health Units in 11 high-focus states, and the establishment of integrated district public health laboratories across all districts.
The Fifteenth Finance Commission (FC-XV) has recommended grants to local governments for specific health sector components. These grants, distributed over five years from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26, aim to strengthen grassroots health systems.
According to the Guidelines for Human Resources for Health under NHM, States and UTs must ensure that housing facilities are available for healthcare professionals, particularly in rural and difficult areas, near health facilities. Additionally, States may consider providing crèche facilities for women working with NHM at the block, district, or state level.
The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav, presented these details in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.