Major hikes have been effected in all the health sector components, especially the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), new schemes, and the Central Drugs Stand Control Organisation (CDSCO), with a sharp increase in the budgetary allocation for the Department of Health and Family Welfare for the next financial year.

The total allocation for the department, as per the budget presented recently in the Parliament, has gone up from Rs.26,897 crore of the current year to Rs.30,702 crore for 2012-13. The plan share in the total outlay is Rs.27,127 crore. The revised estimate for the current fiscal was Rs.25,254 crore, according to the detailed Notes on Demand for Grants.

The allocation, in tune with the commitment of the Government to spend more on health, has been on the rise in the recent years. During 2010-11, the outlay stood at Rs.22,764 crore. While the total allocation for hospitals and dispensaries went up from Rs.1532 crore to Rs.1578.04, the Centre also set apart Rs.1544.21 crore in the budget for establishment of AIIMS-type super speciality hospitals and upgrading State Government hospitals.

CDSCO which has been looking for more funds to bolster the regulatory mechanism also got a major climb in the allocation. The outlay has grown up to Rs.94.10 crore for the next year from Rs.56.62 crore of the revised estimates of the current financial year.

With a new vaccine unit sanctioned in Tamil Nadu in the public sector, the Finance Minister has increased the allocation for manufacturing of sera and vaccine from Rs.32.57 crore to Rs.57.73 crore. The allocation for national disease control programme stood at Rs.1563.91 crore against Rs.1173 crore of the current fiscal, according to the budgetary documents.

The total allocation for the NRHM went from Rs.15497.50 crore in the revised estimates of the current year to Rs.18515.30 crore in the latest budget. However, there is no special allocation for the proposed National Urban Health Mission which the Finance Minister promised in his budget.