Not for Publication For Members only

LOK SABHA ___

SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES (Proceedings other than Questions & Answers) ______

Wednesday, March 17, 2021 / Phalguna 26, 1942 (Saka) ______

OBITUARY REFERENCES HON’BLE SPEAKER: Hon. Members, with profound grief, I have to inform the House about the passing away of our colleague, Shri Ram Swaroop Sharma and one former colleague, Shri Manohar Lal Saini. Shri Ram Swaroop Sharma was a sitting Member and also a Member of the 16th Lok Sabha representing the Mandi Parliamentary Constituency of Himachal Pradesh. An able Parliamentarian, Shri Sharma was a member of Committee on External Affairs. Shri Ram Swaroop Sharma passed away on 17th March, 2021 in New Delhi at the age of 62 years. Shri Manohar Lal Saini was a Member of the 6th and 7th Lok Sabha representing Mahendragarh and Kurukshetra Parliamentary Constituencies of Haryana respectively. Shri Manohar Lal Saini passed away on 8th March, 2021 in New Delhi at the age of 81 years. We deeply mourn the loss of our colleague and the former colleague and I am sure the House would join me in conveying our condolences to their bereaved families. The Members then stood in silence for a short while. _____ STATEMENT BY MINISTER Re: India’s Vaccine Maitri Initiative

THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (DR. SUBRAHMANYAM JAISHANKAR): I rise to apprise this august House of the progress we have made in taking forward the Vaccine Maitri initiative. Before I share the details of the initiative itself, I seek the indulgence of the House to explain the thinking behind it. As Indians, we are all naturally internationalist by virtue of our culture, traditions, heritage and history. We have never seen a contradiction between this internationalism and the nationalism that was the driver of our independence struggle and subsequent endeavours at nation building. Indeed, this experience of the freedom movement has even further reinforced our internationalism, by creating a strong solidarity with other nations who similarly struggled for their freedom. In recent years, as democracy struck deeper roots, we have found our own cultural expressions and identities that define us in a diverse world. In fact, drawing from our heritage, we have become even stronger voices for international cooperation and solidarity. That, of course, is most in demand at times of global stress, such as the COVID pandemic. Many of us may share these sentiments and beliefs. The challenge of policy making is to give that a practical shape. In the case of our Government, Prime Minister Modi’s vision has provided an over-arching framework to make our goodwill meaningful in terms of practical initiatives and activities. We already saw that in our humanitarian assistance and disaster responses, whether in Yemen and Nepal or Mozambique and Fiji. As a result, in the last few years, India has developed a reputation of being the first and reliable responder in the region. We saw that too in critical negotiations of global importance like the Paris Agreement, where we had a key bridging role or indeed in the International Solar Alliance or the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, two notable initiatives envisioned by the Prime Minister. When it came to Africa, we raised the level of our cooperation very substantially at the IAFS-3 Summit in 2015. Our projects, training and presence has today spread widely across that continent. From the Caribbean to the Pacific Islands, the message has been clear that the Prime Minister of India not only has the willingness to engage them personally, but to back that up with concrete development programmes. It is this outlook of human-centric global cooperation that is the driving force of Vaccine Maitri. Even as the COVID pandemic was in full fury, there were already global demands of our pharmaceutical and medical capabilities. If we could meet them, it was largely due to the extraordinary ramp up of our COVID-related capabilities with which the House is familiar. We are all cognizant of the low fatality rates and the high recovery rates that result from the Prime Minister’s leadership and the Government’s focused. But there was an external beneficial impact of our capabilities as well. India could meet the spiking requirements of hydroxychloroquine, paracetamol and other relevant drugs across the world. In fact, we supplied 150 nations with medicines, 82 of them as grants by India. As our production of masks, PPEs and diagnostic kits grew, we madethem available to other nations as well. This generous approach, so characteristic of our culture, was also extended to the Vande Bharat Mission Starting from Wuhan, we brought back nationals of other countries while looking after our own. The House would, therefore, appreciate that as we contemplated the prospect of vaccination against Covid-19, a similar approach was natural. Our domestic vaccination programme started in January 2021 and within a few days, we also started assisting our immediate neighbours. The basis for doing so was the assurance that Prime Minister gave in his virtual address to the UN General Assembly in September 2020. On that occasion, he declared that India's vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting this crisis. We also offered to enhance cold chain and storage capacities for the delivery of vaccines. This approach is not only in keeping with our age-old tradition of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, as I have noted earlier. It is also the contemporary outlook of this Government to utilize India's growing capacities for the benefit of humankind. As a prominent nation in an increasingly multi-polar world, the international community has greater expectations of us. We, in turn, are prepared to demonstrate our willingness to shoulder greater responsibilities. From the very beginning, India has always believed that the pandemic threatens the entire humanity and that the rightful response would be a collective one. Accordingly, evenas early as 15 March 2020, Prime Minister took the initiative to hold a meeting of SAARC Heads of Government to fashion a regional solution. An important outcome was the creation of the SAARC COVID-19 Fund that supported the early exchanges on this issue within the region. We then held workshops and training courses to strengthen capacities for handling vaccines and other aspects of public health andCOVD- 19 management. Most recently, that was followed up by a meeting of senior health officials of the region on 18 February 2021. They shared the outcome of their deliberations with Prime Minister, who urged a special visa scheme for doctors and nurses, coordinating a regional air ambulance agreement, a platform for studying data on the effectiveness of vaccines and a network for technology assisted epidemiology for preventing future pandemics. Our efforts, of course, went well beyond the neighbourhood when it came to online training and capability building. The Ministry of External Affairs organized 14 e-ITEC courses in partnership with premier institutions like AIIMS and PGI Chandigarh. There was even an exclusive one conducted in Bangla for Bangladeshi professionals. And one by Armed Forces Medical Services for the military doctors in South-east Asia. These 14 courses had a total of 1131 professional participants from 47 countries. In planning and executing Vaccine Maitri, we are naturally guided by a determination to make a difference at a difficult moment for global society. Our reputation as the "Pharmacy of the World' has been reinforced in that process. So indeed has the faith in ‘Make in India'. But more than thevaccines themselves, our policies and conduct have emergedas a source of strength for the stressed and vulnerable nations of the world. They can see that there is at least one major nation that truly believes in making vaccines accessible and affordable to others in dire need. The House should be aware that the supply of vaccines abroad is based on the assessment of adequate availability at home. This is continuously monitored and takes into account the requirements of our domestic vaccination programme as it unfolds in different phases. An empowered Committee oversees this entire process. Quite appropriately, Vaccine Maitri began in the immediate neighbourhood, starting with the Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, as also Mauritius and Seychelles. The extended neighbourhood followed thereafter, especially the Gulf. Supplying smaller and more vulnerable nations was then the logic of reaching out to regions from Africa to the CARICOM. There are also contracts that our producers have entered into with other nations, either bilaterally or through the Covax initiative. To date, we have supplied "Made in India' vaccines to 72 nations across geographies. The House should recognize the enormous feeling for India that our initiative has generated. Those sentiments have naturally been expressed by leaders and prominent personalities of many nations. But more than that, our Ambassadors feel every day the warmth of ordinary people across the world for India. In the trust sense, this has been people-centric diplomacy at work. The world sees not just of the selfless outlook of India but also of the quality of our products and capabilities. The Covid pandemic has been a test of fire for all of us. But I can confidently state that even in the midst of a global crisis, the Prime Minister’ initiative of such deep friendship has raised India’s standing and generated great international goodwill. ______

*MATTERS UNDER RULE 377 1. SHRI ASHOK KUMAR RAWAT laid a statement regarding flouting of pollution control norms by Indian Oil Corporation Limited Refinery, Panipat, Haryana. 2. SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY laid a statement regarding need to construct a RuB/Underpass/RoB at level crossing No. 18C between Kaptanganj and Khushhal Nagar in Maharajganj Parliamentary Constituency, Uttar Pradesh. 3. SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL laid a statement regarding need to develop a waterway on Saryu river between Manjhi in Bihar and Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. 4. SHRI MANOJ KOTAK laid a statement regarding redevelopment of residential colonies falling under funnel zone near Mumbai Airport. 5. SHRI RAJU BISTA laid a statement regarding Coronation Bridge over Teesta River. 6. SHRIMATI RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE laid a statement regarding inclusion of all Gurjar Caste and Sub Caste in Central OBC List in Raver Parliamentary Constituency, Maharashtra.

* Laid on the Table as directed by the Chair. 7. SHRI BHAGIRATH CHOUDHARY laid a statement regarding need for doubling of Phulera-Rewari railway section. 8. DR. (PROF.) KIRIT PREMJIBHAI SOLANKI laid a statement regarding patients suffering from Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSD). 9. DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR laid a statement regarding need to set up Mineral based industry in Tikamgarh district, Madhya Pradesh.

10. SHRI DEVAJI PATEL laid a statement regarding extension of under-construction overbridge between railway platforms in Swaroopnagar in Sirohi district, Rajasthan. 11. DR. MANOJ RAJORIA laid a statement regarding Chambal- Panchana-Jagar lift project for drinking and irrigation purpose in Karauli Parliamentary Constituency, Rajasthan. 12. SHRI VINCENT H. PALA laid a statement regarding inclusion of Khasi language in 8th Schedule to the Constitution. 13. SHRI MAGUNTA SREENIVASULU REDDY laid a statement regarding problems of bank retirees. 14. SHRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE laid a statement regarding need to frame stringent laws and set up fast track courts to curb crimes against women. 15. SHRI KAUSHLENDRA KUMAR laid a statement regarding need to set up an International Airport at Rajgir in Nalanda Parliamentary Constituency, Bihar. 16. DR. G. RANJITH REDDY laid a statement regarding creation of districts in Telangana. ______

THE UNION BUDGET 2021-22 DEMANDS FOR GRANTS 2021-22 Ministry of Health and Family Welfare SHRI MANISH TEWARI initiating said: This discussion is taking place at a point of time when the world is being engulfed by the second wave of Corona Virus infection. World Health Organization is currently chaired by India. The Minister of Health of India is the Chair of the World Health Organization. I think this is extremely serious matter and I would like to urge the hon. Health Minister to ensure the investigation about the origin and proliferation of the Covid-19. As per the data of the Government there are about 3 crore 48 lakh people have been vaccinated till date. Those people whose vaccination is complete and got their second dose, their number is 61.68 lakh. It means that out of 130 crore population of India, only 0.047 per cent population have been vaccinated. Standing Committee of Home Affairs have raised concern that there are so many people who have not got their second dose of vaccine. It means that their first dose of vaccine is useless. Today, vaccine diplomacy is going on. On the one side, people here are not able to get vaccine and on the other side 5 crore 74 lakh doses of vaccine is being exported. It were the same dates during last year when Corona Virus pandemic was on a rise. One question can be asked as to what was the need of this comprehensive lockdown? Whether micro containment strategy should not have been adopted? Although, we have Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 but now it is right time to bring a comprehensive legislation to deal with such circumstances. This is absolutely true that our doctors and frontline workers have done their job wholeheartedly and they must be appreciated for this. But during that period we have also noticed that private sector hospitals have overcharged from Covid-19 patients. Even today, the 70 per cent population of this country still depends on private healthcare providers. Therefore, there is also a need to regulate private healthcare in the country. There is also a need to strengthen healthcare infrastructure of India. At the end, I just want to say that pandemic have made us learn to co-exist with nature. SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ' LALAN' : This Government has done a tremendous job in health sector during the last seven years. Today, a provision of about Rs.223846 crore have been made in this budget which is 137 per cent more in comparison to the last year. The Swasth Bharat Scheme aims to make the people of the country healthy. If the people are not healthy, the country will also be not healthy and we cannot make India self-reliant if the country will not be healthy. Corona is a worldwide pandemic. The first case was detected on 30th January, 2020 and from that day the Union Government as well as the Ministry of Health monitored the situation continuously and coordinated with the entire world. The Prime Minister held discussions with all the stakeholders and coordinated with them. Partial lockdown was imposed on 22nd March in the country and on 25th March complete lockdown was imposed. Lakhs of labourers doing their jobs in other states were sent to their home state free by train. There was no basic infrastructure available in the country. Neither mask nor PPE Kit were being produced. Neither ventilators nor Testing Kits were available. Under the able-leadership of the hon. Prime Minister, basic infrastructure were developed in the country. Lakhs of people got employment. Dedicated Covid Hospitals were set up in the country where health workers remained available round the clock. 1.5 million beds have been made available in the country. Infrastructure facilities have been created including 80 thousand ICUs and 40 thousand ventilators. Now, we are sending all these things to more than 150 countries as an assistance. This is our international obligation too and it is also being done on humanitarian grounds. Earlier, there was only one laboratory available for testing. Now, there are 2410 laboratories functioning in the country. The Central Government has imparted online training to each and every frontline health worker, doctor and covid warrior. An army of the covid warriors was prepared to take on covid and it is the result of this that we have been able to control it. As of now, more than 3 crore people have been vaccinated whereas the vaccination started lately, i.e, on 16 January this year. Two vaccines have been developed indigenously and 7 more vaccines are under trial. There is no shortage of vaccine in the country. We are providing it to other countries also. The Ministry of Health has developed a digital platform through which monitoring is being done in this regard. Now, there are 541 medical colleges in the country whereas this number was 381 till 2014. There are 80,312 medical seats in the country and 80,300 doctors are being produced every year. The Modi Government has done an unprecedented work. Finally, I would like to request that the Darbharga Unit of AIIMS be made functional at the earliest. DR. SANJEEV KUMAR SINGARI: The Public Health System and Preventive Health Care in India is in disarray, even after seven decades of Independence. Health Care Measures taken by the Government of India during COVID crisis are laudable, despite several lacunae. Digital initiatives like Aarogyasetu, iGOT, e-Sanjeevani, Webinars from Centers of Excellence such as AIIMS, were very helpful to contain COVID crisis. Timely supply of medical disposables and laboratory equipment was very helpful. The fatality rate was very low when compared to many of the so-called developed nations. The unique volunteer system was a game changer in the management of COVID crisis in Andhra Pradesh. It was possible to update the health records of five crore people in just three days. Medical infrastructure was improved and thousands of medical personnel were appointed. Thousands of neighbouring State people were treated at AP hospitals. As envisaged in National Health Policy of 2017, our target for 2025 is 2.5 per cent of GDP. It would have been better had the Government of India allocated more funds to health sector in the present Budget. India ranks 184th out of 191 in terms of GDP per cent spent on health care as per WHO. We need to compensate the families of health workers who have scarified their lives in COVID war. A High Level Group on Health Sector and 15th Finance Commission have stressed the need to focus on primary health care in India. This will ease out workload at secondary and tertiary care centres. More funds need to be allocated for primary health care. Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharath Yojana, wherein Rs. 64,000 crore are proposed to be spent in the next six years, is highly commendable. About 70 per cent of our population is in rural areas, whereas only 30 per cent of qualified doctors go to rural areas to serve these people. This anomaly needs to be corrected by way of encouraging rural medical establishments. Drugs are available at 50-90 per cent cheaper rates. Now, we have only 7400 but we need lakhs of Jan Aushadi stores in order to reduce the rates of the drugs. A marketing officer should be appointed to the State of Andhra Pradesh. Through Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, 20 new AIIMS and 71 State Government Hospitals were sanctioned. AIIMS of Mangalagiri in the State of Andhra Pradesh is still under construction even after five to six years. I request the Government of India to release funds to speed up the process. The Standing Committee on Health recommended ten per cent of health budget be earmarked for research. The number of research papers published by ICMR depends on this allocation, so allocation needs to be enhanced. The COVID crisis reminds us of this fact. Through Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, I request the Government of India to help the three aspirational districts of Andhra Pradesh, namely Kadapa, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram on priority basis with regards to establishing tertiary care hospitals. I request the Government of India to increase allocations for health sector and make a healthy India. DR. HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT: The Union Budget 2021-22 has demonstrated the focus on building a more resilient healthcare system. The Government’s focus has also been on improving the COVID-19 vaccination in the country. I would like to congratulate the Government for the actions taken towards the COVID-19 pandemic management. The hon. Prime Minister prepared a comprehensive dedicated COVID-19 clinical management framework during lockdown. Temporary hospitals were set-up on a number of places. Arrangements were made for isolation beds, oxygen supported beds, ICUs and ventilators. The production of PPE kits, testing kits, N-95 masks etc. was started in the country. Besides, the work on vaccine research was also started. COVID-19 vaccination drive is so far the world’s largest vaccination drive. As on 11th March, 2021, a total of 2.57 crore doses have been administered to 2.10 crore beneficiaries. The Government has taken a very long-sighted decision of increasing the investment in public health to prepare India for current and further pandemics. SHRI SANGAM LAL GUPTA: The kind of changes observed in Healthcare sector over the last few years in the country is being appreciated worldwide. Along with providing medical facilities to such a huge population we are also exporting masks and now vaccines essential to fight Corona virus. The vaccines manufactured in the country are stated to be more effective than other countries. While emphasizing on investment in healthcare sector, the Government also intends to provide these facilities to different areas of the country. The Government is working on four goals i.e. first is prevention of disease, second is to provide cheap and effective treatment to poorest of poor, third is to enhance health infrastructure and its quality and fourth is to work on mission mode to provide all healthcare related facilities. The budget has been enhanced by 135 percent for health sector. The Government will spend nearly Rs. 61 thousand crores in next six years on health services from primary level to higher level. There will be focus on new diseases. 75 thousand Rural Health Centres, Testing Centres in all districts and Critical Care Hospitals in 602 districts will be set up. The National Centre for Disease Control and Integrated Health Info Portal will be further strengthened. 17 New Public Health Units will be made operational. The Government has announced to set up a National Institute of World Health and 9 Bio Labs as well. Four Institutes of Virology will be set up in view of Corona. I request the Government to accord sanction for a CGHS Centre or Hospital in my Parliamentary Constituency Pratapgarh. DR. ALOK KUMAR SUMAN: Right to Health is part of right to life. Several important steps have been taken under National Health Policy 2017, as a result of which there is improvement in child and maternity health, decline in mortality rate, increase in life expectancy and increase in immunity power against major communicable deceases. Under Mission Indradhanush more than 3.5 crore children belonging to poor families were vaccinated to save them from serious illness. Health facilities have been improved and ensured in Bihar. A large number of specialist doctors have been appointed there. Medical college sanctioned for my Parliamentary Constituency Gopalganj should be made operational at the earliest. Alongwith this an AYUSH hospital should also be opened in Gopalganj. India is running the largest vaccination programme against COVID-19 pandemic. Lacs of vaccines of COVID-19 have been manufactured in the country and India has fulfilled its commitment towards humanity by supplying COVID-19 vaccines to several countries during these difficult times. More than 70 per cent of the population of country is residing in rural areas where health facilities are inadequate. The Government should improve health facility in rural areas also. A target has been set to cover 10.79 crore families under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. Around 1.5 crore poor people have availed the facility of treatment worth five lac rupee free of cost under this scheme. Rs.2,23,846 crores have been allocated for health in the Union Budget of 2021-22 as against Rs.94,452 crores during 2020-21. This initiative of the Government will help in improving the health sector. SHRI KULDEEP RAI SHARMA: In this year's Budget, only Rs.71,268 crore has been allocated to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare which is much lower than the revised estimate. Allocation to the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSSY) has been reduced from Rs. 7517 crore to Rs. 7000 crore and the amount of Rs. 600 crore for the Family Welfare Scheme has been reduced to Rs. 387 crore. The allocation in this sector needs to be further increased in order to achieve the target of 2.5% of GDP in public health expenditure by 2025 as envisaged in the National Health Policy-2017. The report by the National Family Health Survey-5 shows that the nutritional status of women and children in the country is extremely disappointing. So, in view of this fact, a special health budget should be provided. I urge upon the Government to set up an AIIMS and trauma centre at GB Pant Hospital and run an air ambulance for immediate assistance to the critically sick patients in my Parliamentary Constituency, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. ANISHI Scheme with cashless treatment facility to the pensioners and people belonging to below poverty line should be re- commissioned and kept separate from Ayushman Bharat. A super speciality hospital including various specialist departments should be set up at GB Pant Hospital in Andaman and specialist doctors from different parts of the country may be appointed there on deputation basis. I urge the Government to regulate the services of ASHA and Anganwadi workers and bring in a comprehensive legislation to bring their services at par with government service. All vacant posts of health care services in Andaman should be filled up immediately. The post of a specialist nurse should be created and recruited in each school there. Post graduate courses should be taken up at Medical College, ambulance equipped with advanced technology, mobile Operation Theatre facility in Andaman and operation theatre facility at Diglipur may also be provided. SHRI ASHOK MAHADEORAO NETE: This budget is focused on agriculture and farmers and in providing appropriate medical facilities to poor and middle class people. Two Covid vaccines are available in India which has given momentum to infrastructure reforms through Atmanirbhar package. There is a dire need to set up a medical college for the poor people of tribal dominated Garhchiroli-Chimur region. Therefore on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi sufficient medical facilities should be provided in Garhchiroli-Chimur and appropriate funds should be allocated by the Union Government in this regard. The Primary Health Services should be improved in tribal dominated areas of the country and adequate number of doctors should be posted at Wellness Centres. SHRIMATI SARMISTHA SETHI: PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana has the potential to improve infrastructure of health sector. It will develop healthcare system, strengthen the national institutions and create new institutions for research on new and emerging diseases. It has been proposed that Rs. 35,000 crore will be spent on Covid-19 vaccinnation. The Union health budget still remains at about 0.34 percent of GDP, it should be enhanced to 0.68 percent. The public healthcare system in the country should be improved. At least 10 percent of the budget for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare should be allocated for research. The reduction of import duty on medical devices is needed to reduce the cost of healthcare services for citizens. State Government of Odisha has tackled the COVID-19 pandemic very efficiently. Odisha Government has allocated Rs. 9,164 crore in the Budget 2021-22 for the health sector. A new scheme has been introduced for setting up Free Treatment Trauma Fund (FTTF) for providing emergency health care and trauma care facilities to the victims of road traffic accidents. Central Government should provide a helping hand to enable the State Government so that the people of the State are served better. I demand that a larger allocation for Odisha should be provided under the National Health Mission in the Budget for 2021-22. The allocation to Odisha under the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme has consistently decreased since 2017, it should be increased. DR. RAJASHREE MALLICK: Under the NHM, though the Central release for the State of Odisha has been increased, but, compared to other States, the amount is extremely low. Under the National Vector Borne Disease Programme, the allocation to Odisha has consistently been decreased since 2017. I demand that second AIIMS to be established in Sundargarh district of Odisha. The pending funds should be released immediately from the centre for the medical colleges in Odisha. I would request to increase the Central funding for the infrastructural development of district headquarters. I would also request to increase the support for more effective functioning of NHM. There is a need to establish one super-speciality hospital in Paradeep. I request to upgrade the Ispat General Hospital at Rourkela. SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB: The recent COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of healthcare sector and its inter-linkages with other key sectors of the economy. The National Health Mission (NHM) has played a critical role in mitigating inequity as the access of the poorest to pre- natal and post-natal care as well as institutional deliveries has increased significantly. Therefore, in conjunction with Ayushman Bharat, the emphasis on NHM should continue. India’s public health expenditure has increased from 0.9% of GDP in 2015-16 to 1.1% of GDP in 2020-21. In the Budget 2021-22, National Health Mission has been allotted Rs. 36,575.50 crores which is 49.4% of the total allocation to the Ministry of Health. There are three major challenges to healthcare in India. Firstly, the health budget remains between 1.2-1.6% of the GDP far from the 2.5% target set by NHP 2017. Secondly the Economic Survey 2020-21 observed that the aggregate density of health workers is 23 per 10,000 population which is significantly lower than that recommended by World Health Organisation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals target by 2030. Thirdly, patients in India rarely know the value of the information they receive in the healthcare sector. Lastly, in comparison to neighbouring States such as West Bengal and Assam, the amount released to Odisha under NHM in all three years is extremely low. Under the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, allocation to Odisha has consistently decreased since 2017. Relating to establishment of new Medical Colleges, Odisha is the only State where funds have not been released in the Second Phase. An important measure that can make a difference is a public health set-up in States. Unless we invest in human capital, FDI will not help. Investing in health and education is the primary responsibility of any Government. It is time the Governments- both at the Centre and States should give health its due importance. SHRI PARBATBHAI SAVABHAI PATEL: In the budget for 2021-22 provision of Rs. 2.38 lakh crore has been made for health sector. Last year our country has developed two vaccines during the COVID pandemic period and vaccination is being done Rs. 35,000 crore has been allocated in this budget for COVID-19 vaccination. PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Scheme has been announced. Wherein 75 thousand Rural Health Centres, Diagnostic Centres in all the districts and Critical Care Hospitals are proposed to be set up in 602 districts of the country. National Centre for Disease Control and Integrated Health Information Portal will be strengthened further. My Parliamentary Constituency is large from viewpoint of population and area and thus number of patients is also more. So basic health services should be extended here. The number of Health diagnostic Centres should be increased for this region. The number of hospitals under ‘Ayushman Bharat’ should be enhanced so that people of rural areas should also be benefitted. SHRI DNV SENTHILKUMAR S.: We expected the Government to increase its expenditure on health at least to 3 per cent of GDP but unfortunately, what we have got is only 1.8 per cent of the total GDP. In future, the emphasis should be laid on telemedicine and on investments that are concentrated in connectivity and health-care infrastructure. I urge upon the Government to give the vaccination free at least to the people who are poor and below the poverty line. The budgetary allocation should be made for doing research on AYUSH drugs so that these drugs can be exported which will bring very good income revenue to the Government. I request the Government to give Rs.5 lakh compensation to the frontline warriors, who have lost their lives during this pandemic. I would like to lay emphasis on NEET exam, which Tamil Nadu is against. By implementing NEET exam, the rural students are being denied the opportunity of studying medicine and as a result thereof around 15 students have lost their lives till now. We would like the Government to abolish the NEET exam. The argument that after the introduction of NEET, use of black money has been stopped is wrong. The private medical colleges are still having a free run but the poor people are the sufferers. Establishing AIIMS in Madurai is a long pending issue and since 2017 just one brick is laid there till now. SHRI CHANDESHWAR PRASAD: I welcome the budget and the allocation made for the health sector. This time an allocation of 2.23 lakh crore has been made for the health sector in budget 2021. 35 thousand crore rupees to be spent on vaccination has also been included in this. About 64,480 crore will be spent on a new scheme called Pradhan Mantri Aatmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana in 6 years by the Union Government. Alongwith this, the budget includes developing primary, secondary and tertiary level health care institutions in the country, launching a nation wide health care portal and Mission Poshan 2.0, setting up of operational health care units in 32 airports and 11 ports, providing ESI facility to every poor of the country, setting up of Integrated Health Lab, a major health centre at every district level in the country, setting up of 17,000 rural and 11,000 urban Health and Wellness centre etc. This time, budgetary allocation of 13 thousand 264.87 crore has been made for health sector for my state Bihar. According to a report released by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the year 2019, one in every 100 children in India dies before the age of five due to diarrhoea or pneumonia. It is necessary to solve this problem. In order to reduce the cost of health services and enhance their quality, investment in medical colleges other than a few excellent institutions like AIIMS should be encouraged. Private sector expertise should be used for quick and successful realization of the goal of vaccination campaign with emphasis on PPP in other diagnostic procedures and hospitals. Incentive should be given for research and development of drugs and GST should be reduced. In order to provide benefits of proposed health facilities, special attention needs to be given on training, re-skilling and upgradation of knowledge of health workers. The Government should make effort to open a primary health centre at every village level. Steps should be taken to address the shortage of doctors in the country. The vaccination campaign needs to be accelerated so that the corona pandemic can be checked. SHRIMATI RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE : I congratulate the Health Minister for laying huge emphasis on health and for allocating huge amount for vaccination drive and for launching a centrally-sponsored PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana scheme to develop 17,788 rural and 11,024 urban health and wellness centres to provide quality and healthy life to the people. There is an outlay of Rs. 2,23,846 crore for health and wellbeing in the Budget of 2021- 22 as against Rs. 94,452 crore in the Budget of 2020-21. The focus of the Budget is on three areas, that is, Preventive, Curative and Wellbeing. At the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of testing laboratories available in the country was only 14. Now, there are more than 1596 laboratories. Under PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana, an outlay of Rs. 64,180 crore spread over six years has been made. As of now, the country has only one National Institute of Virology but now Government has made provision to have four new National Institutes of Virology which will cater to different regions of the country. Drinking water and sanitation play a vital role in providing good health. Keeping this in view, an increased amount of fund has been allocated to the tune of Rs. 60,030 crore. Under our Atmanirbhar Bharat Scheme, the Government putting sincere efforts to make India an Atmanirbhar. Our scientists have worked hard and have succeeded in developing two vaccines for COVID-19 virus. In this Budget, the Government proposed to establish a World Health Organisations’ South East Asia Regional Research Platform. In my constituency, a new Public Health Unit should be established in Muktainnagar in Jalgaon District. I would request the Government to establish a new medical college in Muktainnagar/Raver block. I thank the hon. Health Minister for development and upgradation of hospitals and for increasing the number of doctors every year to cater to the services for the health and wellbeing. By doing all this, the Government is ensuring the vaccination programme to be of great success. SHRIMATI SUMALATHA AMBAREESH : The overall allocation made to the healthcare sector, for the financial year 2021-22, is Rs. 2.23 lakh crore. It is 13.7 percent more than the total amount spent on this sector in 2020-21. The Government proposed to implement the Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 with a capital outlay of Rs. 1.4 lakh crore spread over five years from 2021-26 to launch a new Central Scheme called PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana with an outlay of Rs. 64,180 crore spread over six years. This Scheme will focus on primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare systems, strengthening existing national institutions, and creating new institutions for detection and cure of new diseases. This Budget will boost the capacity of the country's healthcare system to detect and cure new and emerging diseases in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic. The Government has set a target to vaccinate at least 300 million high risk people in the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination drive, which is expected to last till August. In the wake of increasing COVID-19 cases, I would like to suggest that the Government should hold high level review meetings, advise States to maintain strict vigil and undertake measures for effective containment and management of COVID-19 cases in the country. A majority of the population below the poverty line continue to rely for its healthcare needs on the under-financed and short- staffed public sector hospitals. In my Parliamentary Constituency Mandya the doctor-patient ratio is very low. I urge upon the Union Government to take immediate steps to provide all kinds of infrastructure facility and manpower in the hospitals located in rural India and there is a need to take steps to recruit more doctors and medical attendants in rural areas of the country to improve the status of public healthcare, particularly in rural India. I would request the Government to see that adequate funds are allocated to the healthcare, particularly in rural areas, so that they can meet the demands of skilled medical attendants, staff, doctor, labs, etc. to take necessary steps to impart timely training to all the medical attendants, nurses and even doctors so that they equip themselves with advanced skills in the healthcare sector. DR. G. RANJITH REDDY: The funds allocated for the family welfare schemes have come down from Rs.500 crore last year to Rs.387 crore this year which is 11 per cent less compared to last year. We have requested for a virology institute and also a certification laboratory in Hyderabad. As per the National Health Policy of 2017, we are supposed to allocate around 2.5 per cent of our GDP to health whereas we are allocating only one per cent of our GDP. I request the Government to link Aadhaar with doctors and pharmacists which will have an effective control on quacks. I would like to congratulate the hon. Health Minister for having taken a decision to start a medical college in each and every district. Telangana has 33 districts and we are falling short by 17 medical colleges. So, I request the hon. Minister to look into this and sanction those 17 medical colleges also. I request the Government to allocate some pension for poor BPL kidney patients. I request the Government to give a helping hand to all the performing States, especially, to my State of Telangana. DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE: First of all, I express my gratitude to all the frontline workers and pay tribute to all those who lost their lives. If we are to achieve our health and family welfare targets then it is necessary to increase its budget. Today, it is 1.5 per cent of our GDP which is even less than the countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Even WHO, UN and Washington Post have appreciated Dharavi model and suggested that it should be adopted all over the world. Today, the maximum number of Corona tests in the country have been done in Maharashtra. We have constructed two hospitals with capacity of 1000 beds each in Mumbai. Hospitals with 1000 beds have been set up in each city. We have constructed hospitals of 1000 beds in my Parliamentary Constituency. Today, we have more than 3.5 lakhs of total beds. Maharashtra has received only 70 lakh doses so far while it needs 2.84 crore doses. I request the hon. Minister to make available the required doses as soon as possible. Out of our request for 377 Covid vaccination centres, we have received sanction only for 200 centres from the Ministry of Health. I request that sanction for the remaining centres should also be granted as soon as possible so that more and more vaccination centres can be opened and maximum number of people are provided vaccination. DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE: Allocation made for the Health and Family Welfare is only 1.5 per cent of the GDP. It is unfortunate to have such little allocation despite the Corona pandemic. I offer my complements to the Government for the announcement of construction of 22 AIIMS in the country. The Government hospitals should be set up in accordance with the density of population. Every year, lakhs of people die in road accidents in our country, therefore, a state-of-the-art trauma care centre should be set up at a distance of every 50 kilometers on each highway in the country so that lives can be saved. An initiative, known as Indrayani Medicity Project, is being taken in my Constituency Shirur. If the hon. Minister provides special assistance for this project then latest health facilities can be provided to the rural people at reasonable rates. ASHA workers were at the forefront among the Covid warriors. In view of their contribution, responsibility and the risks faced by the ASHA workers, they should be provided an honorarium equivalent to the minimum wages. A special provision should be made in the budget for the costly treatment of diseases like genetic disorders. Vaccination centres should be accorded sanction in the rural areas having 50 bedded DHCs and DCHCs so as to increase the quantum and scope of vaccination. Maharashtra gets only 25 per cent doses of the weekly demand. Therefore, I demand that Maharashtra should get 20 lakh doses every week. As much as 4 per cent cess is levied on health and education. I would request the Hon. Minister to give the details of this amount in his speech as to how this amount is spent on health related issues. The countrymen need to know about it. DR. UMESH G. JADAV: Karnataka State ESIC Medical Complex has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 1400 crores on 50 acres of land at Kalaburagi and only twelve per cent of this complex is occupied. Therefore Kalaburagi city should get priority in matters of public facilities like AIIMS. As per norms, land measuring 200 acres is required to set up AIIMS. As Government of Karnataka has agreed to give additional land of 150 acres from the Gulbarga University to ESIC Medical Complex for setting up AIIMS. Therefore, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare should consider the proposal of upgradation of ESIC Kalaburagi in the line of AIIMS. I would like to bring it to kind notice of Hon. Minister that, ESIC hospital in Kalaburagi had sought to start a National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences centre. Therefore, kindly expedite the process of starting a NIMHANS centre in Kalaburagi. The death rate of people with tuberculosis is highest in Karnataka's Government hospitals. Therefore a tuberculosis hospital at Kalaburagi should be started. Due to the non-availability of super specialty hospitals for children in Kalaburagi district, institutional birth record rate in public healthcare units in Kalaburagi is lower. Hence, a children's super specialty hospital should be opened in Kalaburagi. ICCU setup is required for major surgeries at Kidwai cancer hospital. Dialysis unit with ICCU setup should be established in all Talukas of Kalaburagi district. SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SADANAND SULE : Today, India is being lauded for playing a key role in global recovery due to its innovation and vaccine manufacturing capacity. The credit is to go to the infrastructure and investment in research that has been done in the last 70 years which by 2014 itself had enabled us to build 1 billion vaccine every year. It is a success story of vaccine development wherein we laid down a huge network of research institutes. However, on the contrary the Budget allocated for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare declined by 10.8 per cent in 2021-22. The contribution of manufacturing sector to the GDP in 2013-14 was 16.3 per cent and under the Make in India initiative the Government had aimed to make it 25 per cent by 2022. However, we have recorded a dismal 17.4 per cent of contribution to GDP by manufacturing sector in FY 2020. With regard to Budgetary allocation to health, this Government has clubbed one time vaccination cost, allocation to the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation among other things to the Health Budget to better the overall optics of the Budgetary allocation. I request the Government to give a performance report of Rs. 7000 crore scheme to reduce dependence on China for Active Pharmaceutical ingredients. There is a need to increase public spending on healthcare to 2.5-3 per cent of the GDP – its about 1.5 per cent currently. The actual Budgetary allocations for many flagship schemes is less than the projected demand. The funds allocated for the flagship nutrition programme, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) was reduced by 19.4 per cent in 2021-22 compared to previous Budget allocation. There is no mention of Anganwadis, ASHAs, ANMs in the Budget speech. There is a need to increase wages of these frontline health workers, who are risking their lives during the pandemic. There is no increase in allocations for mental health in this Budget, despite there being a surge of mental health issues during lockdown in the country. Under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), 484 gazetted officer posts and 1390 non-gazetted posts are vacant. To encourage the Medical Device industry in India under the Make in India initiative, medical institutions must be encouraged to procure medical devices with BIS certification vis-à-vis the USFDA certification for basic equipment. The Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) is a major threat to public health which is projected to cause 10 million deaths by 2050. The Centre should take combative measures beforehand to keep the threat of AMR at bay. The threat of COVID-19 is yet to be over and the Health Ministry must prepare itself to combat. Public health emergency usually entails shift in resources disrupting the reproductive health services of women. This has to be taken care of. The 2021-22 Budgetary allocation for the National Health Mission was slashed by Rs. 38,825 crore compared to the projected demand. The primary healthcare expenditure be increased to at least two-thirds of the total health expenditure, as envisaged in the National Health Policy. To ensure last mile delivery of healthcare services to rural and remote areas technology enabled platforms should be used. SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR: Hon. Finance Minister has talked about an increase of 137 per cent for health in the Union Budget, but in view of number of corona patients and population of Maharashtra during the Corona period, very little fund is being given to Maharashtra. Therefore, I request the Union Government to declare the Maharashtra State a financial support of five thousand crore rupees for the complete elimination of Corona from the state. Import tax and GST levied on bags used by cancer patients imported from abroad should be completely waived. All taxes on Glucometer strip should be removed. An AIIMS hospital should be announced on the vacant land of various central government ministries in the Mumbai suburb. MRI and C.T. scan machines should be installed in district hospitals across the country by giving a special package. DR. S.T. HASAN: I would like to focus on the infrastructure. This is no more secret as to in what conditions our primary health centres are. Barahapur, in my constituency is a major town but no qualified doctor has ever been appointed there in the primary health centre. We need to strengthen our primary health centres. I would like to know from the Hon. Minister that he has allowed Ayurvedic BAMS for conducting surgery but BMUS have not been allowed though the course is same. I would, therefore, request you to kindly not allow them to conduct major and super specialty operations. I would like to congratulate the hon. Minister of Health for working on war footing to control the Covid situation and that is why the pandemic is under control. I would like to thank our scientist community for developing the vaccine which many in the world could not do but alas! it has been politicised. I would request you to provide compensation to the doctors and paramedic staff who died fighting Corona so that those working on the ground do not feel discouraged. SHRI MALOOK NAGAR: Had the labourers been allowed to leave for their homes 5 to 6 days prior to the lockdown, the chaos would not have been there, the labourers would not have faced that much difficulties nor would they have died on the way back to their homes and would have reached their homes safely and securely. But it is not necessary to criticize the Government on each and every count, the Government should be supported for the good work. During the corona period, the Government provided assistance to many sectors. The poor and those belonging to the minority sections of the society should be provided the needed assistance. The leader of our party always thinks about the farmers, poor and the labourers and fights for them also. The fact is that the wrong policies pursued by the Congress party gave worth to our party and their wrong policies also gave rise to your party. DR. SATYA PAL SINGH: We all should lead a healthy life and we cannot succeed in life without good health. I would congratulate the Government for spending about 2.25 lakh crore rupees on health. However, I would like to raise 2-3 points here. The inspiring and effective leadership provided by our hon. Prime Minister to our nation and also to the world at large is quite appreciable. The hon. Prime Minister has instilled a sense of discipline among the people of our country which is praiseworthy. I would also put on record my sincere thanks to hon. Minister of Health, the health workers and the police force for their untiring efforts during these difficult times. Hon. Prime Minister while addressing in a webinar in the month of February had said that if we wanted to make our country healthy, then we had to adopt a four pronged strategy. The diseases are to be checked and health is to be promoted. Effective treatment facilities need to be provided to all especially to poor people. The Ayushman Bharat Scheme and Pradhanmantri Jan Aushad Kendras need to be strengthened. More AIIMS need to be set up. Certain diseases need to be treated in a mission mode. Then only, we can build a self-reliant and healthy India. During corona times, Ayurveda and our traditional medicines have been found to be very effective. The WHO has therefore decided to set up the global centre of traditional medicine in India. I would like to make a humble request to hon. Minister of Health that if we spent 10th of what we are spending on allopathic system, on yoga education, training health workers, then we can certainly improve the health conditions in our country. We should rise above the party politics and work unitedly in this direction. SHRIMATI SANGEETA AZAD: The vaccination campaign should be accelerated by the government. In this general budget, the government has claimed to increase the health budget by 137 per cent, but the budget that the government has given is much lower than the budget of small countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar. There is a need to allocate more amount for research to fight such viruses and other threats in our country. The government has allocated less budget to that. In my Parliamentary Constituency Lalganj Bazar, if a provision for sonography facility and labour room in a women's hospital along with a lady doctor, is made then the people of the area will be benefitted. SHRI HASNAIN MASOODI: Our this year's health budget is 11 per cent less than the revised estimate. Likewise, there is only 4 per cent increase in the budget for NHM. This has been overlooked completely as to which issues we are to tackle. The role played by our External Affairs Minister and the Defence Minister in bringing back the students of Jammu and Kashmir stranded in foreign countries, was highly appreciable. We need to strengthen our primary, secondary and tertiary level health system in the country. We also need to support National Rural Health Mission and National Urban Health Mission in a big way. However, the budget allocation for this purpose does not augur well. We are fighting with the COVID, the vaccination campaign is on and we are helping the foreign countries as well. During these difficult times, the diabetes and kidney issues have registered steep rise and we need to pay attention to them while fighting against the COVID. DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR: The resolution of the health of Indian citizens by the Government of India is reflected in the provision of Rs. 2.23 lakh crore proposed in this budget. The program to start “Pradhan Mantri Atmnirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana” is a very commendable work. 64 thousand 180 crores will be spent in the next 6 years for this important scheme, this scheme will definitely revolutionize the health sector and provide quality healthcare services to the citizens. The work of establishing a medical college in Chhatarpur should be started soon. The Cancer Department should be set up in my Parliamentary Constituency Tikamgarh so that people will have a lot of facilities for testing and treatment. A medical college should be established in Tikamgarh. DR. SUBHASH RAMRAO BHAMRE: I congratulate the hon. Prime Minister and the hon. Health Minister for allocating sufficient money for the Health Ministry. This is the first time when there is 137 per cent increase in the budget of this Ministry. We are proud of our hon. Prime Minister, scientists and doctors for inventing vaccine for COVID-19 in record time. India is the first country to come up with a vaccine. The Government has provided a sum of Rs. 30,000 crore for free vaccination of frontline corona warriors and senior citizens of this country. SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE: The Government has given importance to development in its budget. We infer the meaning of infrastructure with physical assets such as roads, bridges, railways and airports etc. But in this budget, health, infrastructure, quality have also been taken care of. In the year 2021-22, Rs. 2.23 lakh crore has been earmarked for health sector. In this pandemic also, Maharashtra has been given the step motherly treatment by the Central Government and since 1st September 2020, the Central Government has stopped medical facilities being provided to the Maharashtra government. The Medical Inspection Team of the Central Government also visited Maharashtra several times to take the stock of Covid situation and despite this, the State Government did not get the required assistance from the Central Government. Now, again, new cases of Corona are being reported in Maharashtra. Their figure is close to 16 thousand per day. Now again, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare needs to provide more and more medical assistance to the Government of Maharashtra. SHRIMATI PRENEET KAUR: The global covid pandemic has brought the world economy to a grinding halt and countries including India are on the throes of severe recession. I must note that the nation has stood with the Union Government and all the State Governments irrespective of their political affiliations have abided by the advice of the Central Government in containing the pandemic and now, in the roll out of the vaccine. The Budget for 2021-22 apparently has an enhanced allocation of 137 per cent increase for health. But it is largely on account of subsuming allocation of the other sectors like water and sanitation under the broader health sector. Similarly, four per cent increase proposed in the outlay for the National Health Mission is grossly inadequate. Coverage of families under Ayushman Bharat also needs to be increased from the present ten crore families. I may add that in Punjab where there are 60 lakh families, only 14 lakh families are covered under Ayushman Bharat. There are a few suggestions that I would like the hon. Health Minister to consider. First, to augment our primary healthcare facilities so that preventive healthcare can improve; secondly, curative facilities in secondary and tertiary care hospitals in Government sector must be improved through a special mission mode project over the next one to two years. There are two things I would like to put forward for my State of Punjab. One is sanctioning of Rs.200 crore for effective COVID management. Besides, I would like them to review the current vaccination strategy to include vulnerable groups such as school and college teachers, drivers, journalists, Judicial Magistrates and workers in markets and include those age groups which can spread the disease but are less vulnerable to illnesses. I would also like to ask for genome sequencing laboratory since we do not have anything of that sort in North of India and the sanctioning of a medical college in Gurdaspur which is a border district. SHRIMATI JASKAUR MEENA: The whole world is in the grip of the corona pandemic. In such a situation, the Prime Minister of our country has created an environment to defeat the pandemic with his vision and prudence. I would like to thank him and the hon. Health Minister for it. I come from Dausa Parliamentary Constituency, which is a backward tribal area. I would like to request to start the work of medical college at the earliest there, which was announced earlier. SHRI JAYADEV GALLA: I congratulate the hon. Minister, ICMR and others for successfully controlling and containing the first phase of COVID-19 pandemic and also for taking up the largest vaccination drive in the world. I would like to highlight two issues regarding the State of Andhra Pradesh. I searched almost all the Budget documents as to what the Ministry has given for AIIMS that has been set up in Guntur, my Parliamentary Constituency, but failed to get any details. The hon. Minister is on record saying that full-fledged hospital would become functional by September, 2020 at Mangalagiri. Secondly, I would like to know from the hon. Minister the present status of hostels, labs, staff quarters and Departments. The hon. Minister must also be aware that a mysterious illness struck Eluru in West Godavari district of my State of Andhra Pradesh in which nearly 700 people get affected. I would request the hon. Minister to kindly tell this House the status of the illness. Moreover, I would like to suggest to increase health sending from the present 1.1 per cent to 3 per cent of GDP. SHRI SUMEDHANAND SARASWATI: The Hon. Prime Minister started the 'Atma Nirbhar' and 'Vocal for Local' Campaign to turn this corona crisis into opportunity and in a very short span of time achieved self-reliance by setting up a network of more than 2,200 laboratories for manufacturing thousands of ventilators, PP Kits and test kits. The Government's performance has been outstanding in health sector during the last six years and we have witnessed it reaping enormous benefits during the corona crisis. An amount of 2.23 lakh crore will be spent in the health sector in the year 2020-21. An additional provision of Rs. 35 thousand crore has been made for Corona vaccine. I also wish to add that Sanskrit should be made mandatory in the BAMS curriculum. SHRI P. P. CHAUDHARY: The decision to announce lockdown in the country was taken quite at the right time during the Corona Pandemic and it has benefited the entire country. I know that health is a State subject but the way hon. Prime Minister has constantly been in touch with all the Chief Ministers did not allow any sort of problem to crop up. The credit for this achievement goes to our hon. Prime Minister. Just now, our Minister of External Affairs said in his statement that the vaccines made in India are being supplied to as many as 72 countries. This is the great achievement for us and moreover the world has showed faith in our vaccine. I would like to extend my thanks to the hon. Prime Minister and the hon. Minister of Health and Family Welfare for announcing a medical college to be set up in my Parliamentary Constituency, Pali. There were only six All India Institutes of Medical Sciences in the year 2014 and now the number of these institutes has been increased to 22 and certainly the credit for this goes to the BJP Government. Today, our healthcare system has carved out a niche in the world. SHRI UNMESH BHAIYYASAHEB PATIL: I would like to begin with paying my tributes to the Corona warriors which include doctors, healthcare workers, sanitation workers, police staff and everyone who has strengthened our fight against this virus. I would like to place on record my appreciation and gratitude to our Prime Minister who has led from the front and with this decisive leadership, we have been able to successfully fight this battle. The healthcare budget has been increased to Rs 2.3 lakh crore, which is a much needed step given how the Indian healthcare infrastructure has been reeling under the pandemic impact and the expenditure on healthcare has so far been grossly inadequate. Enhancing healthcare infrastructure in the country requires more than just one-time support and far more concerted efforts to meet the committed increase in healthcare spend to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2025. SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL: An amount of Rs. 2 lakh 23 thousand crore rupees have been earmarked for the health sector in this General Budget which is 137% more in comparison to the last budget. The increase made in the budget for the health sector will be spent on every level of health services starting from primary health care and for developing state of the art infrastructure for diagnosis and treatment of the pandemic. The Government has made a provision of Rs. 35 thousand crore for the vaccination programme. The essential feature of this Budget is that a major share will be spent on setting up public health care laboratories in 17,788 rural and 11,024 urban health care centres in all the districts and setting up intensive care blocks in more than 600 districts. Besides, clean water would be supplied in 4000 urban bodies and 3 lakh crore urban tap water connections would be provided. I also request the Government to set up trauma centres on the lines of every AIIMS near N.H. 331 and 531 in my parliamentary constituency Maharajganj of Bihar. SHRIMATI ANUPRIYA PATEL: On behalf of my party, I rise to speak in support of the Demands for Grants for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the year 2021-22. The total allocation for the Ministry this year is Rs. 73,932 crore out of which Rs.71,269 crore is for the Department of Health and Family Welfare and Rs.2,663 crore is for the Department of Health Research. I want to begin with the Department of Health Research first for which I feel the allocation is quite low because it is just 4 per cent of the total budget allocation of the entire Ministry. What the COVID pandemic taught us is that we need more of regular research because it is research which prepares to deal with the unforeseen emergencies like the pandemic that we see today. I would also request the hon. Minister to ramp up the vaccination drive in all the poll-bound States such as West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. Besides, it is important to increase the public spending on health to 2.5 per cent of the GDP. SHRI SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA: I would like to highlight key requirements from the State of Odisha that need urgent attention from the Central Government. Establishment of Medical College in Rayagada District has been a long pending demand of the people. As State Government failed to send DPR in time hence Rayagada DHH could not be included in Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district/ referral hospitals. This request needs to be revisited and Central Government should take steps to establish Government medical college at Rayagada by discussing with the State Government. I would like to request the Central Government to set up Government medical college and hospital in Bhadrak at the earliest. A full-fledged cancer hospital and research centre should be established at Bargarh as early as possible. I would like to request the Central Government to take appropriate steps to clear one medical college and hospital for Kendrapara. SHRI GIRISH CHANDRA : The expenditure in Health Sector which was 0.9 percent in the year 2015-16 has increased to 1.1 percent in the year 2020- 21. Rs. 2663 crore have been allocated for research in health sector which is 4 percent of the total health budget. This amount should be increased. The amount of 1.4 lakh crore allocated for Urban Swatch Bharat Mission is very meagre. This should be reconsidered. We are very glad that vaccine of COVID-19 pandemic has been successfully developed by the scientists of our country but the process of vaccinating people in the country is progressing at a very low pace. COVID vaccine should not be given to other countries and more people should be vaccinated in our country, COVID vaccination should be given free of cost to poor and disabled persons. Drug pricing syndicate is operating in the country which manipulates the policies in its favour. It should be tackled seriously. There is no hospital with better facilities in my Constituency Nagina and there is a shortage of doctors, nurses, medicines and other facilities in the existing hospital. Therefore, I urge upon the Government to set up a hospital in Nagina so that people of Uttrakhand adjoining Moradabad and Seemanchal other than people of Bijnaur can also be benefitted. SHRI SUNIL KUMAR SINGH : I support the Demands for Grants, 2021-22 for Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The provision of 2,23,846 crore rupees has been made for the Health and Welfare in the budget estimate of 2021-22 for reforms in the Health Sector. Rs.35,000 crore have been given for making COVID-19 vaccine. There are 37725 hospitals, Primary and Community Medical Centres in India which are very less as compared to the population and world parameters. Today, there is a shortage of 14 lakhs doctors and 20 lakhs nurses. There is a need to strengthen health services at rural level. Increase in the diseases relating to Hepatitis in Chatra, Latehar and Palamu is a matter of concern. Maternity and child health care facilities are also lacking in these areas. Provision of more funds should be made for the eradication of Malaria. There is a need to set up medical colleges and medical institutes in the backward areas like Chatra and Latehar with the collaboration of Central Government. There is an acute shortage of medical colleges in Jharkhand as compared to other states. The medical colleges started in Hazaribagh and Palamu are not operating due to the shortage of teaching staff , its enrollment has also been stopped and hospital is also closed. Steps should be taken to set up medical colleges in Chatra and Latehar districts of Jharkhand state. A positive initiative should be taken for the upgradation of Central Psychiatry Institute Ranchi. There is an acute shortage of health infrastructure in Chatra, Latehar and Palmu backward areas. There is no gynecologist and child specialist in Chatra which is a district headquarter. Medical services relating to maternity and child diseases should operate properly in rural areas to achieve the target of Swatcha Bharat and Swastha Bharat. The situation of Primary Health Centres is very pathetic in these areas of Jharkhand and require improvement. Wellness Centres were proposed to be opened in rural areas under Ayushman Bharat Yojana have not been opened so far. This work should be taken up speedily. SHRI OM PAVAN RAJENIMBALKAR: Today, India is facing COVID- 19 alongwith the whole world and I am confident that we will definitely succeed in this fight. The country has the highest population in the world and we must pay special attention towards the health care sector. A national level mission should be launched to eradicate malnutrition in the country. Balanced diet and other measures need to be taken to eradicate malnutrition in malnourished districts of Maharashtra. The health sector needs to be improved by formulating some new plans to eradicate hunger as well as many other epidemics. I urge upon the Government to take appropriate steps to increase the number of Primary Wellness Centres in proportion to the population in my district of Usmanabad in Maharashtra. Usmanabad has been declared as aspirational district. So, in the event of a corona emergency, special assistance should be provided to provide facilities to citizens here. In addition, there is a need to provide special grant to set up an Ayurvedic College, an exclusive polyclinic and full fledged centre with all amenities for ex-servicemen. There is a need to set up hospitals in my constituency of Usmanabad with assistance from the Prime Minister's Fund. Treatment has become too expensive due to arbitrary overcharging in private hospitals and the quality of treatment has also been affected. So, I urge the Government to put a check on it. Our rural health services need to be further strengthened. In view of the high number of patients of COVID-19 in Maharashtra, more masks, sanitizers, ventilators, oxygen, PPT kits and other medical equipment are also required to be made available in large quantity to the state. Medical assistance to the state of Maharashtra should be increased and a large number of corona vaccine should also be provided so that all people get vaccinated and prevent the epidemic. SHRIMATI DARSHANA VIKRAM JARDOSH: The Government and all the people of the country have worked unitedly towards meeting the needs of the country to fight the Corona epidemic. The Government has done the great job of serving the mankind by providing assistance to other countries to fight the epidemic while translating the basic principle of Indian culture 'Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam' . The entire team of central and state government, Frontier Warriors, Government staff and medical staff deserve a felicitation for their contribution. During the epidemic, the country not only started making masks but has taken a concrete steps to prevent the epidemic by preparing quality ventilators to meet the needs of other countries as well. Today, about 23 crore people have been tested across the country. Our scientists should be felicitated who, despite all the complications, have successfully conducted clinical trials by preparing a vaccine to fight the corona. Thus, the Government has visualized its tagline 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Vishwas'. Despite adverse conditions due to corona across the country, the Government has made a lot of efforts to bring the situation under control. The Government has also put in adequate efforts in boosting the morale of scientists to find the vaccine of the corona which is being highly appreciated. I urge the Government to give more importance to the dissemination of information about incurable and deadly diseases among the people and formulate a new plan with a view to provide economic support to the people through Government machinery and social media for treatment such diseases so that every citizen living in every nook and corner of the country may easily avail the benefit of medical treatment. DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR: I would like to make some special demand for grants for my Parliamentary Constituency Dindori, Maharashtra considering the present scenario. Corona is once again spreading fast in Maharashtra. The people of my constituency have to go to civil hospital situated in Nashik city to get their treatment done. However, there is a shortage of beds due to Corona pandemic. Hence, I request that the existing bed capacity of the civil hospital be increased to 500 for the facility of the people. The shortage of specialist doctors in Public Health Centres should be met immediately. The posts lying vacant in Nashik district should be filled by appointing specialist Doctors at the earliest. My Lok Sabha Constituency is a tribal dominated area. 108 Ambulance service should be restored in these areas so that the patients of rural areas can be benefited. With these demands, I support this budget. SHRI D.K. SURESH : The overall allocation for healthcare sector is Rs.32.23 lakh crore for the financial year 2021-22. It is 137% more than the budgeted spending in 2020-21. The Union Budget 2021-2022 has made some provisions regarding health and well-being. The Government proposes to implement Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 and also announced to launch a new Central Scheme PM AtmaNirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana. I believe that this budget will boost the capacity of the country's health-care system to detect and cure new and emerging diseases in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government has set a target to vaccinate at least 300 million high risk people in the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination drive. In the wake of increasing cases of COVID-19, I would like to suggest that the Government should hold high level review meetings, and the Centre should advise States to maintain Strict Vigil and undertake measures for effective containment and management of COVID-19 in the country. India has 1,56,231 sub-health centres, out of which 78,569 are functioning without male health workers, 6,371 are functioning without auxiliary nurse midwives, and 4,263 are without either of them. There is a shortage of around 3,500 Doctors, 2000 PHCs are without Doctors. This means 121,080 patients, go without access to primary health care every day. Strengthening both the PHCs and sub-centres will ease the burden on secondary and tertiary health institutions. The poor are dependent on Government hospitals for their healthcare needs but these hospitals are not equipped with better infrastructure, and there are no medical staff including Doctors etc. as these Government Hospitals are not allocated adequate funds to meet their basic needs. The Government should see that adequate funds be allocated to healthcare, particularly in rural areas to meet the demands of skilled Medical Attendants and staff, Doctors and Labs etc. and take necessary steps to impart timely training to them. I request the Government to set up a new AIIMS in Bengaluru. SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK : I would like to salute all officers and staff of the Departments of Health who have made valuable contribution in the fight against global Corona pandemic and sacrificed their lives. The scientists of the country have developed vaccines to prevent this deadly pandemic and these vaccines are not only saving lives in India but also in other countries. There has been considerable improvement in health services since this Government came to the power. The poor people of the country are also getting better health facilities. Many people in my Parliamentary Constituency suffering from serious diseases have got a new lease of life under Prime Minister National Relief Fund. The Government has given top priority to healthcare and adopting a holistic approach towards health, it has focused on three areas i.e. preventive, curative, corrective and wellness. The Pradhan Mantri Atmnirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana with an outlay of Rs.64,180 crore will be launched. A medical college should be sanctioned and maternity hospital should be set up in Sidhi district headquarters in my Parliamentary Constituency. A super specialty hospital should be set up in Sidhi and Singrauli district headquarters. A separate Trauma Centre equipped with modern facilities should be set up in Sidhi district headquarters and a highly sophisticated Trauma Centre should be set up at Beohari district headquarters in Shahdol district. SHRI SUNIL KUMAR SONI : All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur has provided medical facilities not only to patients of Chhatisgarh but also to patients living in adjacent states. During the COVID Pandemic, AIIMS, Raipur has emerged as a reputed institute. Leprosy Research Institute, Raipur lacks basic amenities. I request that an operation theatre should be set up there. This Institute is situated on 12 acres of land which can be utilized for other medical facilities. Apart from an institute of research and training, it should be upgraded as a research centre for communicable diseases. SHRI SYED IMTIAZ JALEEL: It has been announced that the health budget has been increased by 137 per cent and the same was appreciated in this House. But when you go into the details of the budget documents, you will find that it is nothing but a manoeuvring of figures. The components of the drinking water scheme, public sanitation and nutritious foods have also been included in the budget earmarked for health. It is a fact that today we are not spending even 1 or 1.5 per cent of the GDP on health while this country needs to spend at least 3 per cent of its GDP on healthcare sector. There is no doctor and no nursing staff in 90 per cent public health centers of the country and hence attention is required to be paid to this aspect. It is being claimed that we are supplying our vaccines to 72 countries. I would like to suggest that, first of all, each and every person of the country should be vaccinated and only after completing the vaccination process in the country, you may supply the vaccines to other countries of the world also. DR. SUJAY VIKHE PATIL: Even in the challenging situations of CORONA pandemic, our country has emerged as a torchbearer for the entire world under the leadership of hon. Prime Minister and under the effective administration of our Health Minister. I would like to address a few issues to the hon. Health Minister regarding my Ahmednagar Constituency. Firstly, the funds that are disbursed from PM’s National Relief Fund for various medical ailments need to be done in a swift manner. When we, as Members of Parliament, issue letters for people undergoing transplantations, joint replacements, cancer treatments, funds take a lot of time to reach those patients, and probably the patients do not get treatment on time. Lastly, my point is to make the role of Members of Parliament more important in disbursement and utilization of funds from the Centre. SHRI E. T. MOHAMMED BASHEER: At the very outset, I salute the healthcare workers of India who did marvelous service during the COVID-19 pandemic. The entire country is proud of them. Coming to the Demands for Grants, the Budget allocation for health is quite inadequate. I would like to say that emergency steps should be taken to fill up the vacancies of healthcare personnel. Moreover, the healthcare services should be made affordable to the common man. When we talk about the health for all, the socially disadvantaged groups, economically marginalized sections, and systematically marginalized sections should be considered properly. SHRI HANUMAN BENIWAL: There were about 2 lakh deaths in India from Corona pandemic. If Covid tests were done stringently at the international airport, Corona would have not spread in India in such a magnitude. Therefore, responsibility should be fixed in this regard. In many states including Punjab and Maharashtra, the second wave of Corona has come. India was pioneer in manufacturing the vaccine for it and it was praised all over the world for the same. But here the question rises that how the Government is going to stop the second wave of the Corona. It is true that funds are provided to poor patients from the Prime Minister Relief Fund. But the amount needs to be increased. I would also like to submit that MPLADs schemes should be resumed so that the money can be utilized for increasing the infrastructure in the medical health sector. So the Government should make such arrangement in this regard. I would also like to thank the Government for increasing the budget allocation for the health sector. Again, I would like to request the Government to revoke the license of Shelby hospital in view of a recent incident in Rajasthan. I would also like to urge upon the Government to deploy experts at AIIMS Jodhpur at par with AIIMS Delhi. Similarly, there is a need to probe the fake appointments taken place at AIIMS Jodhpur. SHRI AJAY MISRA TENI: I would like to submit that in 2014, the total population of our country was 125 crore and we did not have health services as per the WHO parameters. There was a big challenge before us and India faced that challenge successfully. This Government has increased the number of hospitals, Primary Health Centres and Community Health Centres. This Government has undertaken various programmes for the prevention of diseases as well as for the modernization of hospitals. Apart from that, more than 1.5 crore people have been provided free healthcare under the Ayushman Yojana. At the same, 7000 Jan Aushadi Centres were also setup. I would like to thank the Government for providing a medical college in my district. I would urge upon the Government to inaugurate the mother-child hospital at the earliest. At the same, deadline of a pilot project pertaining to Lakhimpur should be extended to 2 years. I would also like to submit that the Government took a timely decision to control the outbreak of Covid-19. Lastly, I would like to say that the increase in budget allocation has brought about a major change the health sector. DR. MOHAMMAD JAWED: According to the WHO standards, the ratio of doctors and patients should be 1:1000 but unfortunately there are about 1550 people dependent on a single doctor in India. In Bihar, the situation is more miserable. More than 28000 people are dependent on a single doctor there. There are only 139 sanctioned posts of doctors in my area Kishanganj against which only 48 doctors are deployed and remaining 101 posts are lying vacant. At least, services of 3000 doctors are needed here. Therefore, I would request that a branch of AIIMS should be setup here. Also there is need to set up pharmacy colleges at Bahadurganj, Amaur. Similarly, nursing colleges are also required to be set up in this area. I would urge upon the Government that the allocation on mental health should be increased as well. DR. SANGHAMITRA MAURYA: This Government has successfully prevented the outbreak of Corona epidemic in the country. Today, I would draw the attention of the Government towards the plight of women in our country. I would request the Government to make arrangements for providing HPV vaccine for girls upto the age of 15 years. It could be made compulsory if we include this vaccine in the national immunization schedule. At the same time, I would also request the Government that health check-up drive should be carried out for women in rural and urban areas. Similarly, I would like to appeal the Government that a Trauma Centre should be set up in the Gunnaur area in my constituency. At the same, adequate facilities should be provided at the medical college in Badaun. SHRI KULDEEP RAI SHARMA: The Corona epidemic has taught us that healthcare is the most important in the world. So, there is a need to pay particular emphasis on the health budget and to increase it. I would like to mention about the prevailing condition of health sector in Andman-Nicobar. The gender ratio is declining here and the Government should take note of this situation. At the same time, the children younger than 5 years old are underweight and there number has increased from 21.6 per cent to 23.7 per cent today. Here, women are also suffering from many diseases. Therefore, my submission is that the Government should take some steps in this regard in Andman-Nicobar Islands. It is a remote area. So, there is a need to set up an AIIMS in Andman-Nicobar Islands also. Similarly, the ‘ANISHI’ scheme should be resumed here. In addition, infrastructural facilities should be provided in the hospitals and adequate number of medical personnel should be deployed here. Air ambulance is also very much needed here. It is also requested that services of ASHA workers should be regularized. SHRIMATI POONAMBEN MAADAM: I see this budget as good as amrit for the healthcare system of India. Modi Ji have taken up the task of opening one medical college for every three to four Lok Sabha constituencies across the country. Due to the relentless efforts of his Government, the prices of stents as well as medicines have drastically reduced. In less than two years, more than one crore people have benefitted from Ayushman Bharat, the world’s largest healthcare scheme. Advances in tele-medicine, Make in India in health sector and IT related tools have augmented capacities for healthier societies. At the root of India’s brave fight against COVID-19 is the commitment and vision of our Hon. Prime Minister, hard work of the medical community and the Covid warriors. Violence, abuse and rude behaviour against front-line workers is not acceptable. With regard to healthcare equipment India is rapidly on the path of becoming Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Indian-made COVID-19 vaccine has been exported to 72 countries while it is being given free of cost at Government COVID-19 vaccination centres. Under the PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana, rural and urban health and wellness centres will be supported, integrated public health laboratories will be set up in all districts, public health units will be established in 11 states and critical care hospital blocks will be created in 602 districts and 12 central institutions. Allocation of funds on various initiatives for development of pharmaceutical industry was made. I would like to request that work for sanctioned medical college in Jamkhmbhaliya, district Jamnagar may be started as early as possible. SHRI INDRA HANG SUBBA: At the very outset. I would like to express our gratitude to the healthcare workers and the frontline warriors. I would also like congratulate the Government for the outstanding work. But in our country, we still have the problem of accessibility to the healthcare system and the non-availability of healthcare system leads to unnecessary and various difficulties to the people of remote areas. Especially in the rural areas, we do not have enough healthcare opportunity there. So, I would like to bring to the notice of the Government that at least one community health centre must be there at the sub-division level as well. Similarly, we must also have a better awareness programme in the rural areas. Again, I feel that health research must be our priority so that we can have been better research and development programme to cope up with the unforeseen situations like to the COVID pandemic. SHRI NIHAL CHAND CHOUHAN: Hon'ble Minister of Finance has given special attention to rural development, cleanliness, clean drinking water, making environment and climate pollution free, overall development of poor and backward class and for improving health facilities in this budget. This Budget is focused on six pillars i.e. health and welfare, physical and financial capital, infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, infusing fresh life to human capital, innovation alongwith research and development and minimum government and maximum governance. For the overall development of my Parliamentary Constituency Sri Ganganagar a Digital University and an IIM should be set up at district Hanumangarh (Rajasthan); a Sainik School each should be established at district head-quarter Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh; an Agriculture University should be set up at Sri Ganganagar; IOCL and HPCL oil depots lying closed since last 10 years in district Hanumangarh should be revived and a washing line should be laid at Hanumangarh junction railway station, district Hanumangarh. SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI: Even after seven decades of independence there is shortage of resources in health sector in the country. During COVID Pandemic it has been felt that there is shortage of medical facilities, beds in hospitals, medicines, life saving systems and medical and paramedical personnel in the country. Therefore, it is essential to improve health services in the country to face the new challenges. A provision of Rs. 2,23,000 crores has been made for health sector in this budget which is 137 percent more than the previous budget. It will surely strengthen health services in the country. There are only 37,725 small and big government hospitals, primary health centres and community health centres in the country which are not adequate to cater the health services to 125 crore population. During the COVID Pandemic India has emerged as a prominent medicine and vaccine exporting country. At present India is exporting vaccines to more than hundred countries. Bihar is lagging behind in field of medical services in comparison to other states. Only 500 ICUs with ventilator facility are available in Government hospitals of Bihar. I request that adequate number of ICUs and ventilators should be provided in government hospitals in my Parliamentary Constituency Seohar. Rs. 64,180 crores have been allocated for PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana. Major part of this allocation will be spent on setting up 17,788 health and wellness centres in rural areas, 11,024 health and wellness centres in urban areas, testing labs in all districts and intensive care units in more than 600 districts of the country. I demand that a medical college should be set up in Seohar district of Bihar to provide medical facilities to people of this backward region. SHRI RITESH PANDEY: The health budget of the current financial year has been reduced by 14% as compared to the estimated expenditure of the previous year. The Government has four major responsibilities towards the people- development, education, safety and health. The Government of India is dependent on disinvestment for making allocation to health sector. Allocation of fund for National Rural Health Mission and all medical colleges like AIIMS is to be made from the resources generated from disinvestment. Recently a new fund, the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Nidhi has been announced funds for which will be added from income tax through health and education cess. My second issue relates to mental health. The WHO has estimated that about 8% of people in India are mentally afflicted and this figure will increase to 20% by the end of this year while today India has 1 Psychiatrist for 3.5 lakh people, 1 nurse for 8 lakh people, 1 Psychologist for 14 lakh people and the Government has not been able to utilize the funds allocated in the budget during the last three years. The Government has allocated 40 crore every year on the National Mental Health Programme however, in 2019 the Government has spent a total of 2 crore and in 2020 a total of 2.5 crore were spent on it. The Government has reduced this budget by 500 crore rupees in comparison to the estimated expenditure of this year on building new medical colleges or increasing medical seats, increasing the number of nurses and maintenance of district hospitals etc. There is a shortage of technicians and doctors in the hospitals of various districts in my Parliamentary Constituency Ambedkar Nagar and there are lakhs of vacancies in the medical sector across the country. The Government needs to pay attention to these problems. SHRI KRISHNAPALSINGH YADAV: Last year, various types of apprehensions were raised about Covid global pandemic. At the same time, our Prime Minister continued to inspire to convert the same disaster into an opportunity and showed us the dream of Atamnnirbhar Bharat even in this crisis. We normally used to import the equipment whether ventilator or PPE kit, but now we are in a position to export these. All this is nothing short of a miracle. I will demand from the government that the budget of AYUSH should be further increased. Separate provision should be made to promote research in the field of Ayurveda as well. Medicinal herbs and plants are also available in abundance in Shivpuri district of my Parliamentary Constituency. If Ayurvedic College and Research Center is set up in this area, then there will be a big initiative in the field of Ayurveda with the proper utilization of flora and I believe that such efforts will also promote medical tourism in the country. In Madhya Pradesh, there is an urgent need for infrastructural upgradation of primary health centers. Simultaneously, the shortage of doctors should also be filled up and new pathology centers should be opened and medical colleges as well as Ayurvedic and Homeopathy colleges should be established. Many important departments like Cardiology and Thoracic departments are yet to be started in AIIMS in Bhopal. I request that these should be started as soon as possible. Adv. AJAY BHATT: This is an all-inclusive, all-incorporating, and all- reaching budget. If we look at the density of the population of our country, then it is much higher as compared to the density of the population of other countries of the world. Had Hon. Prime Minister not taken steps wisely then, today the situation of the country would have been worse and there would have been a pile of corpses in the country as well. There has been no state in the country where the Hon'ble Prime Minister himself has not monitored the situation. Demand for our drugs has increased globally and we have converted Covid-19 pandemic into an opportunity. In this budget, Covid-19 and health have been given high priority. The Hon'ble Finance Minister has allocated Rs 64180 crore separately for the Pradhanmantri Atamnnirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana. I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on this occasion. SHRI ANNASAHEB SHANKAR JOLLE: The Budget has acknowledged health and well being as the topmost of the six fundamental pillars of growth and development and has prominently positioned health along with the holistic sector of wellness. The health sector has witnessed an overall hike of 137 per cent in the Budget allocation this year with Rs. 2,23,846 crores from Rs. 94,452 crore the previous year. Taluka Health Hospital in Belagavi district was approved under NHM ROP of Karnataka 2020-21 by upgrading CHC to TLH. But only Rs. 150 crores was approved under the budget which is insufficient to complete the TLH. So, it is my sincere request to the hon. Minister to allocate balance fund of Rs. 193.50 crore so that TLH becomes reality and our Government's goal of 'Health care to all' will be a reality soon. SHRI BALUBHAU ALIAS SURESH NARAYAN DHANORKAR: There has been a lot of appreciation that this time the expenditure on health has increased by 137 percent, but has the health budget actually increased by 137 percent? This time, this huge amount of expense is visible because in addition to the Health Ministry, the expenditure on AYUSH Ministry, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Corona Vaccine has also been added. This time the Health Ministry has received Rs. 73,931 crore. These figures are 11 percent lower than the revised budget of the last year. Although, it is 10 percent more than the previous budgetary allocation. According to the budget document, in the year 2020-21, the government spent 1.8 percent of GDP on health. Earlier, in the year 2019-20, 1.5 percent was spent. The government is definitely increasing expenditure on health, but it is not at the pace which should be. According to the science journal, Lancet, India ranks 145 out of 195 countries in the Healthcare Access and Quality Index. The allocation has been reduced for many departments of the Ministry of Health. Therefore, I request the Health Minister that all the departments that are necessary should get a full budget, and their budget should not be cut down. SHRI C.P. JOSHI: The Ministry has been allocated an amount of Rs. 73,932 crore in this Budget which is 7% annual increase against the actual expenditure in the year 2019-20. The Department of Health and Family Welfare under the Ministry has allocated Rs. 71,269 crore which is 96 per cent of the total allocation, whereas merely four percent i.e. Rs. 2663 crore have been allocated to the Department of Health Research. The Pratapgarh Fort of my parliamentary constituency is inaccessible and has adverse geographic conditions. There is a dire need to set up a medical college there. The setting up of a medical college there along with the availability of specialist doctors would benefit the local residents. SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO: 135% increase has been made in the health Budget which has been increased to Rs. 2.38 lakh crore which is commendable in itself and this will guarantee health to every citizen. Rs. 35 thousand crore have been allocated for Corona vaccination programme in this Budget. Now, I will put forth certain demands pertaining to my parliamentary constituency. My district is aspirational district and my region is lagging behind in terms of healthcare. So, it is my demand that diagnosis and dialysis facilities should be made available in district hospital. There is acute shortage of doctors in Jharkhand so the under construction five medical colleges should be completed at the earliest. There is a need to strengthen all the district hospitals of Jharkhand and equip them with all the facilities. SHRI MANOJ KOTAK: I congratulate the hon. Minister for making 137 per cent increase in the Budget for Health and Family Welfare Ministry and extend my support to the Demands for Grants. The Government provided for Rs. 94,452 crore in the last year's Budget 2020-21, which has now been increased to Rs. 2,33,846 crore this year. “The Pradhan Mantri Atma Nirbhar Swasth Bharat” has been declared in this year’s Budget under which a resolve has been taken to strengthen the health care services across the country. The Government has provided for Rs. 35 thousand crore for Covid vaccination in the Budget. When the entire world was cooling its heels for Covid vaccine, the scientists of our country along with other scientists across the world were working day and night to prepare it. When Corona virus hit our country, the production of PPE kits and ventilators was almost negligible at that time. The Hon. Prime Minister motivated the indigenous producers to produce them and also requested them to increase their efficiency. As a result, the product which used to be imported earlier, is now being exported by our country. It has increased the prestige of our country across the world. SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL: A provision of Rs 2,23,846 crore has been made in the 2021-22 budget which is an increase of 137% as compared to this year’s budgeted estimates. Urban Swacch Bharat Mission 2.0 will be implemented with a capital outlay of Rs. 1.4 lakh crores over five years. The government of Shri Narendra Modi who through the Ministry of AYUSH has given a new energy and new direction to the achievements and knowledge of our culture for the benefit of the people. India is running the biggest vaccination programme in the world against COVID-19. Besides, several other initiatives like ramping up health infrastructures by launching digital platforms like Arogya Setu App attaining self-sufficiency in production of PPE kits etc have been taken which will go a long way in strengthening the country. SHRI ASHOK KUMAR RAWAT: In place of populist and attractive announcements, this budget has focused on agriculture and farmers and providing health services to the poor and middle class people and special attention has also been paid to the poor sections of the society. Drawing the attention of the House to the major problems of my Parliamentary Constituency, Misrikh, Sitapur district, I would like to request that proper arrangement of health care center should be made in Misrikh Parliamentary Constituency and adequate number of doctors should be posted in the health care centers. A trauma center should be established near Bilhaur. THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE; MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, AND MINISTER OF EARTH SCIENCES (DR. HARSH VARDHAN) replying said: From the very beginning our Government is adopting a holistic approach in regard to health. A provision of Rs.64180 crore have been made under Pradhan Mantri Atmnirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana. We have been adopting the formulae of test, track and treat during Covid pandemic. If there is any pandemic in future, the country will have to be ready for that. The issue of Integrated Health Information Portal has been raised. We have controlled Covid in a better way in comparison to the entire world. First time, the Finance Commission wrote a special chapter with regard to health and there is special mention of health in chapters 7, 9 & 10. The Ministry of Finance separately allocated Rs.70,000 crore and as such healthcare system will be strengthened through local bodies. Issue of Pneumococcal Vaccine was raised. You know that pneumococcal affects our lungs. Many Members have talked about health research. Rs.2100 crore have been allocated in the current year and Rs.2636 crore have been allocated for the next year. An additional budget of Rs.11400 crore have been provided for Covid. In total, a huge increase has been made for health sector. There is much importance of health, education and nutrition for the development of society. With regard to the query about the cess imposed on health and education, it may be understood that out of four percent, one per cent goes exclusively to the reserve fund i.e. non-lapsable fund under the Pradhan Mantri Surakshi Nidhi. Whatever announcements have been made in the budget, we will implement these announcements at any cost from 1st April. There were 381 medical colleges in India since Independence till the year 2014 and upto the year 2020 this number has gone upto 562. This is an increase of 47.5 per cent. There were 54,348 UG seats in 2014 and now in 2020 these have increased upto 84,649. This is an increase of 48 per cent. PG seats also increased upto 54,275 from 30,191. This is also an increase of 79 per cent. Our Government has also streamlined admission in Super Specialty Courses with the help of the National Medical Commission. We are going to start new diploma courses through new National Board of Examinations. Some Members said about vaccines. 36 percent of vaccination of the entire world has been carried out in India. We are exporting 5.94 crore vaccines to 73 countries. India envisions the whole world as a family. We have always been of the view that technology may be local but science is global. You just recall the situation with regard to ventilators, PPE Kits, masks, diagnostic kits during the month of March last year. Now we have became self-reliant within a short span of time. We had started our journey through a single laboratory and now we have 2416 labs. Now, we have formulated a consortium for genome sequencing. There were 86 Jan Aushadhi Kendras opened from the year 2008 to 2014 and the number went upto 7300 in the year 2020. Our target is to increase this number to 10,000 by the year 2024. Upto the year 2014, five AIIMS were being developed gradually and now we have taken this number goes upto 22. There are 7 new AIIMS out of those 22. The integrated surveillance programme of NCDC is now going to cover all the districts through an IT network for weekly data on epidemic-prone 18 diseases. Integrated Health Information Portal is being expanded across the entire country. Health and wellness center under Prime Minister’s ‘Ayushman Bharat’ is such a huge scheme which became the largest programme of the world. There are at least 10 parameters on which work is in progress on health and wellness centers. The Government has not only expanded the services but has chalked out comprehensive scheme about quality control also. We have made major reforms in the National Health Mission Scheme and it is working very well. We have launched healthcare for the elderly programme in 718 districts of the country. ‘TB Harega, Desh Jitega’ is our ambitious programme. All the cut motions were put to vote and negatived. All the Demands for Grants were voted in full. ______

THE UNION BUDGET – 2021-2022 Demands for Grants- 2021-2022 All the Cut Motions were put and negatived All the Demands for Grants relating to Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Department of Atomic Energy, Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Environment. Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of External Affaris, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Food Industries and Public Enterprises, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Ministry of Power, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Secretariat of the Vice-President, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Department of Space, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Ministry of Steel, Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports were voted in full. ______The Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2021 The Bill was passed ______

UTPAL KUMAR SINGH Secretary General

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