In 2025, the government aims to further expand the country’s health infrastructure. From new AIIMS-like institutes to the upgrade of the existing health centres and the establishment of critical care hospital blocks to control the spread of infectious diseases, these initiatives will reassure the public of the government’s commitment to healthcare.So far, there are 22 new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and 75 projects to upgrade existing government medical colleges/institutions. Of the 22 AIIMS, 18 are functional, and the remaining four are at various stages of operationalization. Union health ministry officials said 69 of the 75 projects have been completed.Further, for setting up critical care hospital blocks in 12 central hospitals, the government under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) scheme aims to establish 150 bedded Critical Care Hospital Blocks (CCHB) at a total cost of Rs. 2220 crores.A significant highlight of 2024 was the extension of the government’s premier health insurance initiative, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, recognized as the largest globally, to all seniors aged 70 and above. Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 29, this program is set to benefit approximately 4.5 crore families, amounting to around six crore individuals.So far, 32,45,705 people have been enrolled under the Ayushman Vay Vandana Card, a separate insurance card for elderly citizens. Officials added that this insurance scheme will cover more senior citizens in the coming year.2025 will also see the government’s push to increase medical colleges, which has already seen an increase of 101.5% in medical colleges from 387 in 2013-14 to 780 in 2024-25. While there are 431 government medical colleges, 349 are private. Under the central-sponsored scheme, 157 medical colleges have been approved. While 131 are functional, the rest, many of which are coming up in aspirational districts, which will address the inequity in medical education, will be completed by this year and will become functional in a few years. According to the Healthcare Federation of India (NATHEALTH), a body representing private healthcare providers, all the proposed initiatives for 2025 are possible if the government increases its budgetary allocation for health substantially, and eventually reach 2.5% of GDP in line with the government’s own stated intent to spend 2.5% of GDP on healthcare by 2025.
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