SAIL, RITES sign MoU for diesel locomotive leasing and maintenance (See 'Corp Brief') Paswan calls for countering Misinformation on Processed Foods (See 'Corp Brief') Misc - If public authority holds any information in form of data, statistics, abstracts, etc. an applicant can have access to same under RTI Act subject to exemptions u/s 8: IBBI (See 'Legal Desk') Horticulture output reaches 367.72 million tonnes in 2024–25: Chouhan (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI - Contention of Noticees cannot be accepted as ground to seek exoneration qua their liability regarding failure to comply with regulatory limits: SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') HLC on banking to align financial sector growth to Viksit Bharat (See 'Corp Brief') Infra Risk Guarantee Fund to instil confidence in private developers (See 'Corp Brief') Shares buyback to be taxed as capital gains for all categories of shareholders (See 'Corp Brief') IIFT achieves 1st Position in Times B-School Ranking 2026 (See 'Corp Brief') Centre to enable States to establish regional medical hubs for tourism (See 'Corp Brief') Budget lays emphasis on scaling up manufacturing in 7 strategic sectors (See 'Corp Brief') Competition Act - intervention of CCI not warranted where allegations contained in Information are vague, sweeping & unsupported by material particulars necessary to establish contravention of Sections 3 or 4 of the Act: CCI (See 'Legal Desk') Interest accrued on motor accident compensation will no longer attract TDS (See 'Corp Brief') FM proposes uniform MAT Treatment for non-resident opting for Presumptive Tax (See 'Corp Brief') Tax certainty for non-resident individuals (See 'Corp Brief') Govt. revised criteria for Inter-Group loan exclusion from 'Dividend' definition (See 'Corp Brief') FDI Limit in Insurance Sector raised to 100%, subject to full domestic investment of premiums (See 'Corp Brief') Govt to facilitate ICAI, ICSI, ICMAI to run short-term know-how courses for youth (See 'Corp Brief') Government to set up 'BharatTradeNet' as Unified Digital Platform for international trade (See 'Corp Brief') Sovereign Gold Bond Capital Gains exemption to apply only to original holders at maturity (See 'Corp Brief') CSIR-NIO's Vizag Centre to play key role in offshore energy: MoS (See 'Corp Brief') FEMA - Statement recorded u/s 37 of FEMA did not amount to confession of criminal offence: HC (See 'Legal Desk') International Olympic Academy Director impressed by India's vision for sports (See 'Corp Brief') WB ranks India among top 5 in terms of private investment in infra (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI - In absence of explicit permission/exemption with respect to RFQ requirements, Noticee should have suspended its services if it was not feasible to engage large amounts of funds into working capital: SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') Survey: India should focus on application-based AI tools (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - NCLT can't decide title disputes over assets, including IPRs such as trademarks, unless they have direct & proximate nexus with insolvency resolution process: SC (See 'Legal Desk') UNCTAD ranks India as leading economy in trade partner diversification (See 'Corp Brief') The Securities Markets Code, 2025: Strengthened Enforcement, Weakened Accountability? (See 'CORP EINSICHT')

India, ADB sign USD 300 mn loan to improve primary healthcare in India

Published: Nov 24, 2021

By TIOLCorplaws News Service

NEW DELHI, NOV 24, 2021: THE Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday signed a USD 300 million loan to strengthen and improve access to comprehensive primary health care in urban areas of 13 states that will benefit over 256 million urban dwellers including 51 million from slum areas.

Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, signed for the Government of India the agreement for Strengthening Comprehensive Primary Health Care and pandemic preparedness in Urban Areas Program while Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB's India Resident Mission, signed for ADB.

After signing the loan agreement, Mr Mishra said that the programme supports the Government of India's key health initiatives - Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC) and Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PM-ASBY) - which has been renamed as Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) - by expanding availability and access to quality primary health care services particularly for vulnerable populations in urban areas.

Ayushman Bharat programme, launched in 2018, aims to improve access to comprehensive primary health care as a key strategy to achieve universal health coverage in India. With the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic that put additional pressure on the country's health system, the government launched PM-ASBY later renamed as PM-ABHIM in October 2021 to adopt a long-term approach to system strengthening to prepare for future pandemics and other emergencies.

"Ensuring equitable access to non-COVID-19 primary health care is critical amid challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic to India's health system," said Konishi. "The programme complements the government's efforts to bridge the health care gaps by strengthening institutional capacity, operation, and management of urban health and wellness centers at the central, state, and municipal levels."

The programme will be implemented in urban areas across 13 states: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal. Beside the pandemic response, interventions through the program promote increased utilization of urban HWCs with provision of comprehensive primary health care packages including non-communicable diseases and community outreach services such as awareness raising activities on health care options, particularly for women. Delivery and health information systems for primary health care will be upgraded through digital tools, quality assurance mechanisms, and engagement and partnership with the private sector.

The programme is supported by a USD 2 million technical assistance grant from ADB's Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction to provide support for programme implementation and coordination, capacity building, innovation, knowledge sharing and application of scalable best practices across the healthcare system.

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