Budget 2022: Dr Nirmala prescribes 2.5x booster shot for Mission Digital Health

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has focused on digital health, increasing the allocation for the national digital health mission by more than two and half times to Rs 200 crore for 2022-2023, up from merely Rs 75 crore in the revised estimates for the current financial year.

The overall outlay for the health sector, though, saw a muted hike amid a still looming Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath. Overall, health budget estimates for 2022-2023 stand at over Rs 86,600 crore, up merely 0.8% over the current fiscal's revised estimates of Rs 85,915 crore and 16% over the budgetary estimates.

The FM announced the launch of an open platform for the national digital health ecosystem. "It will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity, consent framework and universal access to health facilities," she said. The government has already launched Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission and started creating health IDs for citizens, which will be linked to mobile and Aadhar numbers to maintain personal health records that can be shared with consent.

The outlay for the department of health research, which includes ICMR and other institutes, stands at Rs 3,200 crore, up 3.9%. The FM said the impetus for vaccination facilitated economic growth.