The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has set out the main preparedness architecture for future pandemics and public health emergencies in India. The package links public health infrastructure, disease surveillance, laboratory diagnostics, oxygen readiness, and digital health information systems.
The current message is important for UPSC because it connects a live governance issue with recurring syllabus themes in GS2 and GS3. The note is not a standalone law or new scheme announcement; it is a consolidation of the institutional capacity that India says it has built for outbreak response.
What exists in the preparedness framework
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said support to States and Union Territories rests on the following pillars:
Pradhan Mantri - Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) was launched to strengthen public health infrastructure at the primary and secondary levels of care, expand capacity for disease surveillance and diagnostics, and support research for emerging and re-emerging diseases.
Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) has been strengthened for disease surveillance and decentralized response through trained multi-disciplinary Rapid Response Teams (RRTs).
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