Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance minister of India today announced a new centrally sponsored scheme for the healthcare sector in Budget 2021.

The ‘PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana’ will be launched with a total outlay of Rs. 64,180 crore over a period of next 6 years. FM Sitharaman said that the scheme will focus on developing capacities of healthcare systems, develop institutions for detection and cure of new and emerging diseases.

She said that the main interventions under the scheme will support over 17,000 rural and 11,000 urban wellness centres. She further stated that this will be an addition to the national health mission.

Apart from that, the FM Sitharaman also announced that the government will provide Rs. 35,000 crore for COVID-19 vaccines in 2021-22. She also said that two more India made COVID-19 vaccines will be available in the country soon. “We have announced 35,000 crore rupees for COVID vaccine, and, for the health sector, we have a budget outlay of Rs 2,23,846 crore, which up 137 per cent compared to Rs 94,452 crore in previous years,” stated FM Sitharaman.

The finance minister highlighted that the budget proposals for 2021-22 rest on six pillars, which are health and well-being, physical and financial capital and infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation and R&D, minimum government, and maximum governance. For the first time this year, the budget is being presented in a paperless format. It would be available to psarliamentarians and the public online.