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Cabinet clears Rs 23,123 crore package to fight Covid

NEW DELHI: After the major reshuffle the Union Cabinet in a meeting today approved a Rs 23,123 crore package for improving health infrastructure to fight COVID-19 uring the current financial year 2021-2022.

The package which has been named, 'India COVID-19 Emergency Response & Health System Preparedness Package: Phase-II’ aims to accelerate health system preparedness for immediate responsiveness for early prevention, detection and management of the virus and envisages setting up around 2.4 lakh medical beds and 20,000 ICUs with a special focus on paediatric care.

Addressing a press conference the newly inducted Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the package which was the second phase of the 'Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness' will be implemented over the next nine months till March 2022. 

In March 2020 last year, when the country was faced with the first wave of the COVID 19 pandemic, the Central government had given Rs 15,000 crore towards setting up medical infrastructure across the country.

Mandaviya said that under the new scheme, the Centre would provide Rs 15,000 crore and states would contribute Rs 8,123 crore, and the plan would be implemented jointly by them across all the 736 districts at primary and district health centres.

The minister said storage facilities for oxygen and medicines would also be created at the district level under the plan and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) would be strengthened by providing genome sequencing machines, besides sanctioning scientific control room, epidemic intelligence services and other support.

"Support would be provided for the implementation of Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) in all the district hospitals of the country. Presently, it is implemented only in 310 district hospitals," he said.

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