PM Modi launched Rs 64,000 crore PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission: All you need to know

"Through the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, an entire ecosystem for services, from treatment to critical research, will be created in every corner of the country," PM Modi said.

The government will develop 17,788 rural health and wellness centres in focus areas of Uttar Pradesh, Northeastern and hilly states of the country. Additionally, 11,024 urban health and wellness centres will be added to these states as well.

In the rest of the country, districts with a population of 5 lakh or more will be provided critical care services through exclusive critical care hospital blocks.

The scheme aims at developing health infrastructure at all levels of care -- primary, secondary and tertiary -- and improving responsiveness against future pandemics.

The scheme revolves around three major steps -- improved disease detection facilities in rural areas, improvement of testing networks, and increasing the laboratory capacity of the country.

"The first is the creation of elaborate facilities for detection and treatment of disease. Under this, health and wellness centres are being opened in villages and cities with facilities for early detection of diseases," the PM said.

"The second aspect is linked to the testing network to diagnose diseases. The third is improving the existing laboratories in the country. Biosafety level-three lab is needed for testing during epidemics. Fifteen such new labs will be made functional," he added.

In addition to the new laboratories, five national-level disease control centres will be built as well that will integrate IT-enabled disease surveillance systems.

“Under PMASBY, a National Institution for One Health, 4 New National Institutes for Virology, a Regional Research Platform for WHO South East Asia Region, 9 Biosafety Level III laboratories, 5 New Regional National Centre for Disease Control will be set up. PMASBY targets to build an IT enabled disease surveillance system by developing a network of surveillance laboratories at block, district, regional and national levels, in Metropolitan areas. Integrated Health Information Portal will be expanded to all states/UTs to connect all public health labs," read a statement from the government.