Free Healthcare and Digital Infrastructure in India: Pragmatic or Ideological?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71164/socialmedicine.v19i1.2026.2361

Keywords:

Digital Infrastructure in India, Ayushman Bharat Mission , Health and Wellness Centres

Abstract

The Government of India launched the Ayushman Bharat Mission in 2017. There are two major pillars of the mission: Ayushman Bharat health insurance and upgradation of existing primary health centres and sub-centres to Ayushman Bharat health and wellness centres. These have been rebranded as ‘Ayushman Aarogya Mandir (AAM)’. This study discusses the second pillar and highlights the paramount role these health and wellness centres could play in delivering comprehensive primary health care, as well as being gatekeepers of the health system. This would enable us to detect early and, therefore, manage early. A well-managed system could reduce the load on the health system, build a resilient workforce and economy.

Author Biography

Vandana Dwivedi, Department of Economics, PPN (PG) College, CSJM University, Kanpur, India.

 Department of Economics, PPN (PG) College, CSJM University, Kanpur, India.

Email: vandana.dwivedi3@gmail.com , https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6888-5875

References

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Thanks so much, Matt / Muchas gracias, Matt

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Published

2026-01-16

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 1 (2026): January-April

Section

Themes and Debates

License

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.