The recommendations of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health on the National Commission for Human Resources for Health (NCHRH) Bill were being examined by the Ministry, the Government has told.

“The NCHRH Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on December 22, 2011, which referred to the Bill to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health & Family Welfare for examination. The recommendations of the Committee have since been received and the same are being examined,” said an official release.

“The Board of Governors (BoG) of Medical Council of India (MCI) was reconstituted in May 2012 and the term of BoG has been extended upto one year till further orders vide notification dated 14.05.2012. Curriculum for Bachelor of Science (Community Health) has been finalised in consultation with the MCI. The modalities of implementation of the course are being finalized. The matter is also being examined by the department,” the release said.

Since the launch of the National Rural Health Mission, over 1.57 lakh personnel have been added to the health system during 2005-12. Infrastructure has been strengthened by taking up 594 District Hospitals, 2,721 Community Health Centres, 5,459 Primary Health Centres and 31,001 Sub-Centres for new construction or renovation, according to it.

Due to constant effort of the Health Ministry, Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has dropped by three points from 47 to 44 infant deaths per 1000 live births during 2011. IMR for rural areas has dropped by three points from 51 to 48 infant deaths per 1000 live births while the urban rate now stands at 29 from the previous 31/1000. Among the states, Goa and Manipur have the lowest IMR of 11 infant deaths followed by Kerala with 12 infant deaths per 1000 live births, the Health Ministry said.

To strengthen tertiary Health Care delivery in the government sector, the Ministry took up 19 state governments owned medical colleges for up-gradation under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Surakhsha Yojana. Six institutions have been already completed and rest are likely to be completed by March-April 2013. In 2013, together with six new AIIMS and 19 up-graded institutions would provide speciality and super-speciality care in all disciplines with a net addition of 11,390 beds covering 27 locations.

To overcome the shortage of nurses and ANMs, the Health Ministry has sanctioned 269 nursing schools with an outlay of Rs.2,030 crore in the last two years, mostly in remote, inaccessible and under-served districts. These institutions will produce an additional 20,000 nurses annually. To give a boost to para-medical education and scale up the availability of para-medics, a National Institute of Paramedical Sciences (NIPS) at Delhi and eight Regional Institutes have been sanctioned. A total of 10,760 paramedic professionals are expected to be trained annually when these institutes of excellence are fully functional, said the release.