Budget 2020: Wellness, Water and Sanitation

On February 1, 2020, the Finance Minister presented the Budget for the financial year 2020-21. The GoI gives utmost importance to health sector. The GoI under the Budget 2020-21 aims to provide wellness, water and sanitation by allocating funds for following schemes.

Ayushman Bharat

Under PMJAY, there are more than 20,000 empaneled hospitals in the country. More such hospitals are to be empaneled in Tier II and Tier III cities. Under the scheme, the budget allocates viability gap funding in PPP mode. In Phase I, the 112 aspirational districts are to be covered. Out of these, the districts without empaneled hospitals are to be given priority.

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are to be implemented in the Ayushman Bharat Scheme. With the help of these technologies, the health authorities can target diseases on an appropriately designed preventive regime.

TB Harega Desh Jeetega

The campaign was launched to fight Tuberculosis and eliminate the disease from the country by 2025. The budget allocates funds to strengthen the campaign and realize the target.

Jan Aushadi Jendra Scheme

The scheme is to be expanded to all districts. The aim is to make 2000 medicine and 300 surgical equipment available in all districts. This is to be realized by 2024.

FUND ALLOCATION FOR HEALTH

The Health Sector has been allocated 69,000 crores. This includes the 6,400 crores of rupees allocated for PMJAY.

SANITATION

Swachh Bharat Mission-FUND ALLOCATION

The GoI is committed to Open Defecation Free India (ODF). It is currently implementing ODF+ that aims to sustain ODF. The GoI now under the Budget aims to work towards Liquid and Grey water management. It will also focus towards solid waste collection, source segregation and processing. The Budget has allocated 12,300 crores of rupees for the Swachh Bharat Mission.

WATER

Jal Jeevan Mission-FUND ALLOCATION

The mission aims to provide clean piped drinking water to all households. The GoI has already approved 3.6 lakh crore rupees for the mission.

The mission also aims at augmenting local water resources, recharging existing sources and promotes desalination and water harvesting.

The budget aims to encourage cities to implement the mission in the current year by allocating fund of 11,500 crores.

Other Schemes

The other schemes that were given importance by the Budget are as follows

• Mission Indra Dhanush covers 12 diseases. The scheme was intensified by the GoI including 5 new vaccines.
• Fit India Movement fights against non-communicable diseases that arises due to lifestyle issues
• The Health vision of the GoI is also supported by the Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission

(The Fund Allocation for the above schemes were not mentioned in the Budget)

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2020