With the health sector getting 20 per cent hike in budget allocation for the next year, the major disease control programmes and other flagship schemes under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) have also gained considerably with good increase in outlays.
The total allocation for the health ministry has gone up from Rs.23300 crore (revised) last year to Rs.26697 crore in the budget for the next financial year, giving a push to the goal of inclusive growth set for the current Plan period. The Plan outlay in this amount will be Rs.23560 crore and the non-Plan share would be Rs.3337 crore. The Plan content last year was just Rs.20100 crore. The government had increased the allocation considerably last year from Rs.19554.09 crore of 2009-10.
The share for all major flagship programmes under the NRHM, the pet project of the UPA Government, also got proportionate hikes from the Finance Minister. The total outlay for the NRHM has gone to Rs.16140.76 crore from Rs.13450.26 crore of the previous year. Significantly, NRHM is one of the few programmes that have nearly utilised the funds, as the revised estimate was close to the original budget allocation. During the financial year of 2009-10, the allocation for NRHM was Rs.14702.76 crore.
The national disease control programme has got Rs.1237.80 crore this time against Rs.1054.73 crore last time. The National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme has been given Rs.437.28 crore, against Rs.352.51 crore of the current financial year. Likewise, all other similar programmes --- National TB Control Programme (Rs.380 crore), National Leprosy Control Programme (Rs.39.52 crore) and National Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (Rs.55 crore)—have increased allocation.
The sub-centres, as part of rural family welfare services, got a major push in the budget. Against Rs.2707.17 crore of last budget, this time the allocation went to Rs.3175 crore in the current proposals for the next fiscal.