New Delhi [India], December 29 : Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, JP Nadda, on Monday convened a high-level review meeting with the Health Minister and senior officials of Haryana to evaluate healthcare delivery and strengthen the implementation of national health programmes.
Key focus areas included strengthening the public health system, patient-centric care, regulatory oversight, and eliminating tuberculosis (TB) as a public health challenge.
Emphasising the need for robust drug regulation, Nadda observed that continuous monitoring across the pharmaceutical supply chain is indispensable for ensuring the quality and safety of medicines. He urged authorities to institutionalise best regulatory practices and treat improvements in patient satisfaction, regulatory oversight, and compliance as a sustained priority.
With regard to the Free Drugs and Free Diagnostics schemes, the Union Health Minister underscored the need for robust supply-chain systems and effective monitoring.
Highlighting the critical role of diagnostics, Nadda stated that timely and quality testing underpins effective healthcare delivery at all levels. He underscored the need for professional management in hospital administration and regulatory compliance, while emphasising stronger oversight of blood banks, hospital systems, and safety standards. In this context, he also emphasised the need to establish a robust mechanism to ensure an uninterrupted supply of laboratory reagents and consumables, so as to enhance the availability of diagnostic tests at public health facilities.
The Union Health Minister also asked the State Officials to engage with HLL Lifecare Ltd to set up AMRIT Retail Pharmacy Stores in every District hospital in the State.
Emphasising the importance of technology-led healthcare solutions, Nadda observed that telemedicine offers an effective means to bridge access gaps in quality healthcare, particularly in remote and underserved areas. He lauded the State for its active and efficient adoption and implementation of the telemedicine facility.
The release stated that Nadda reaffirmed the Government's resolve to eliminate tuberculosis and stressed the need for targeted, district-level interventions with intensified focus on screening, diagnostics, treatment adherence, and nutritional support. He highlighted that AI-enabled handheld X-ray units have been introduced to strengthen community-level TB screening, while NAAT machines have been made available at the block level to enable early detection of TB, including drug-resistant TB. Referring to community participation, he noted that over 350 MY Bharat volunteers from Haryana have joined the Ni-kshay Mitra initiative and emphasised the need to ensure their effective linkage with TB patients for psycho-social support as well as for generating sustained community awareness. He underscored that TB elimination must be pursued in mission mode with close monitoring at district and block levels.
The Union Health Minister called for sensitisation workshops for MLAs to promote regular engagement with Zilla Parishads and Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) and strengthen review mechanisms. He stressed that people's participation (Jan Bhagidari) is vital for improving healthcare outcomes, accountability, and public trust in health programmes.
Assuring full support, the Health Minister of Haryana stated that the State Government would continue to work closely with the Union Health Ministry to strengthen implementation and deliver improved health outcomes across the State.
Emphasising continued Centre-State collaboration, Shri Nadda reiterated the Centre's support to Haryana through NHM interventions, PPP models, expansion of medical education, viability gap funding, and infrastructure support to deliver modern and affordable healthcare services. He also emphasised that the Centre remains committed to providing all required technical training and handholding to the State. He stated that similar consultative engagements with Health Ministers of other States would be undertaken in the coming days as part of a mission-mode approach to health sector reforms. Nadda earlier met State Health Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh last week.
The meeting concluded with a collective commitment to strengthening drug regulation, advancing diagnostic services, professionalising hospital administration, expanding medical education capacity, and accelerating progress towards TB elimination, underscoring the principles of cooperative federalism in public health.
Representing the State of Haryana, the meeting was attended by Arti Singh Rao, Health Minister, Government of Haryana; Sudhir Rajpal, Additional Chief Secretary, Health; Manoj Kumar, Commissioner, Food & Drugs Administration; Lalit Goyal, State Drugs Controller; Virender Yadav, Director, Health Services; Dheeraj Parihar, Director, Pt. Neki Ram Sharma Government Medical College, Bhiwani; Malti, Joint Director, Medical Education; Prithvi Singh, Joint Commissioner (Food); and Rajesh Kumar Sihmar, Deputy Medical Superintendent, Pt. Neki Ram Sharma Government Medical College, Bhiwani, Haryana.
Senior officials from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare were also present, including Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava, Union Health Secretary; Dr. Vinod Kotwal, Additional Secretary (Medical Education); Ms. Aradhana Patnaik, Additional Secretary and Managing Director (NHM); Shri Rajit Punhani, Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI); and Dr. Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), among others.