The Government has set up a high-level Central Council of Health and Family Welfare, with members also from the industry, to consider and recommend broad lines of policy regarding all subjects coming under the Ministry of Health.

The council would advise the government on policy matters regarding all aspects like the provision of remedial, promotive and preventive care, environmental hygiene, nutrition, health education and the promotion of facilities for training and research.

The panel, headed by the Union minister for health, will also have proposal for legislation in fields of activity relating to medical and public health and Family Welfare matters, laying down the pattern of development for the country as a whole. The responsibilities of the council also include examining the whole field of possible co-operation on a wide basis in regard to inter-State quarantine during time of festivals, out-break of epidemics and serious calamities such as earth-quakes and famines and to draw up a common programme of action, according to sources.

It will also make recommendations to the Central Government regarding distribution of available grants-in-aid for health and family welfare purposes to the States and to review periodically the work accomplished in different areas through the utilization of these grants-in-aid; and establishing any organisation or organisations invested with appropriate functions for promoting and maintaining co-operation between the Central and State Health and Family Welfare administration.

The Union Minister of state will be the vice chairman. The members include Planning Commission member, ministers of health from the States and Union Territories, two each members from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, president of Indian Medical Association, president of Family Planning Association of India, president of FICCI,  and chairperson of Indian Council of Child Welfare.

The nominated eminent persons into the council are G C Chaturvedi, IAS (Retd), Benaras Hindu University vice chancellor Dr Lalji Singh, Aligarh Muslim University vice-chancellor Zameer Uddin Shah, Baba Farid University of Health Science vice-chancellor Dr S S Gill, Dr Mathew Verghese of St. Stephen’s Hospital, Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi of Tata Memorial Hospital, Dr P Namperumalsamy (CEO Arvind Eye Hospital), Dr Yogesh Jain of Jan Swasthya Sahyog, Dr M R Rajagopal (director, Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences), Sanjoy Hazarika from Centre for North East Studies, Guwahati, and Dr Nachiket Mor (IFMR Trust, Chennai).

Secretaries to the Departments of Ayush, health, women and child and HRD,  ICMR director general, NACO director general and director general of health services (DGHS) will also be members of the council while economic advisor to the Ministry would be the member-secretary.