Financial aspect of 73rd and 74th Amendment

Subject – Polity

Context – Release of ₹8,453.92 crore to 19 States, as a health grant to rural and urban local bodies (ULBs)

Concept –

In early November 2021, a potentially game-changing and transformative development took place— the release of ₹8,453.92 crore to 19 States, as a health grant to rural and urban local bodies (ULBs), by the Department of Expenditure, the Ministry of Finance.
This allocation has been made as part of the health grant of ₹70,051 crore which is to be released over five years, from FY2021-22 to FY2025- 26, as recommended by the Fifteenth Finance Commission.
The grant is earmarked to plug identified gaps in the primary healthcare infrastructure in rural and urban settings.
It would be 2.3% of the total health expenditure (both public and private spending together) of ₹5,66,644 crore in India and 5.7% of the annual government health expenditure (Union and State combined) of nearly ₹2,31,104 crore (both figures for 2017-18), the most recent financial year for which national health accounts data are available.

To know about Grant in Aid for Rural Local Bodies, please refer September 2021 DPN.