Union Health Minister Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda distributed appointment letters to Delhi Nursing Officers and Allied Healthcare Professionals and flagged off Ayushman Bharat Registration Vans, in the presence of Smt. Rekha Gupta, Chief Minister, Government of NCT Delhi, at Vigyan Bhawan, today. The event was also attended by Ministers of Government of NCT Delhi, Dr. Pankaj Kumar Singh, Minister, Health and Family Welfare & Transport and Information Technology, Shri Ravinder Indraj Singh, Minister, Social Welfare, Welfare for SC & ST, Cooperative and Election and Shri Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Minister, Industries, Food & Supplies, Environment, Forest & Wild Life, Members of Parliament (Shri Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Shri Praveen Khandelwal, Shri Yogender Chandolia and Smt. Bansuri Swaraj).

Addressing the gathering, Shri Nadda stated that “this is a momentous occasion as today, after 15 years, our nursing officers and allied healthcare professionals are receiving appointment letters. With this, Delhi government is working towards strengthening the healthcare system by recruiting specialized workforce.”

Shri Nadda underlined that Delhi observes the highest healthcare load as people across the country come to Delhi for treatment and earlier the healthcare system faced negligence. He commended the efforts of the current Delhi government for strengthening the healthcare infrastructure and implementing Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan AarogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY) and Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM- ABHIM).

He stated that “under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Ayushman Vay Vandana was introduced to ensure healthcare to the senior citizens above the age of 70.  The Delhi government is working in this direction of ensuring the right to be healthy throughout life with dignity under Vay Vandana. Till date, 4 lakh Ayushman Cards have been issued in Delhi, with 2 lakh cards issued under Vay Vandana.” He urged all stakeholders to work dedicatedly towards implementing PM-ABHIM in Delhi and fulfill the target of opening 1100 Ayushman Arogya mandirs till 31^st March, 2026.

Shri Nadda underlined that “in 1997, the Health Policy focused primarily on curative care while under the visionary leadership of PM, the New Health Policy 2017 was introduced with a   philosophy of comprehensive care—preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative— with a special focus on geriatric care. “

Shri Nadda emphasized the important role of Ayushman Arogya Mandirs in providing equal, affordable and accessible healthcare for all. He highlighted that “special emphasis is being given to preventive healthcare under which initiatives for early diagnosis for different diseases have been undertaken. We are focusing on screenings of individuals over the age of 30 and working towards stalling the spread of diseases through early diagnosis. Till now, 18 crore screenings for hypertension, 17 crore screenings for diabetes, 15 crore screenings for oral cancer, 7.5 crore screenings for breast cancer and 4.5 crore screenings for cervical cancer have been conducted.”

Highlighting the strides made in the direction of maternal and child care, Shri Nadda highlighted that “through the Ayushman Arogya Mandirs from conception to child birth to early childhood care is being provided. Regular checkups and immunization have led to significant improvements.  Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has declined from 130 to 88 per lakh live births while Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) dropped from 39 to 26. Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) has declined with a rate of 42% while the global decline is 14%. Neo-natal mortality rate has declined with a 40% rate while the global average decline was 11%.”

Shri Nadda also added that “TB incidence has reduced by 17.7% which is more than the double of global decline rate of 8.3%, which is confirmed by the WHO Global TB Report 2024.”

Highlighting the substantial growth in medical education and infrastructure, Shri Nadda stated that “earlier India only had 7 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) till 2014, but today, 20 AIIMS are operational. The number of medical colleges have increased from 387 in 2014 to 780; the number of medical seats has increased from 51,000 to 1,18,000.  aiming for a total increase of 75,000 seats over the next five years.”

Commending the initiative of Ayushman Bharat Registration Vans, Shri Nadda stated that “running of 70 specially designed Vans in all assembly constituencies is a novel initiative in order to cover all eligible beneficiaries of PM Jan Arogya Scheme. 20 specially designed mobile vans are being flagged off. 70 such Vans will cover 70 assembly constituencies where they will collect and generate data for issuance of Ayushman Card and register the beneficiaries at their doorsteps.” Shri Nadda also highlighted the importance of the nursing and allied healthcare professionals in the healthcare landscape, and urged the newly appointed officers present to work dedication and empathy towards implementing the healthcare schemes.

Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Rekha Gupta stated, “Till now, 4 lakh Ayushman cards have been distributed under the Ayushman Arogya Yojana, which includes 2 lakh Vay Vandana Cards issued to the senior citizens of Delhi. A total of 2,258 individuals has already received medical treatment 108 hospitals of Delhi have been empanelled under the scheme.”

She also informed that “by 31^st March, 2026, a total of 1100 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs) will be established in Delhi using the 1700 crore Rupees allocated for Delhi under PM-ABHIM. 100 AAMs are ready, out of which 34 have been already inaugurated and the rest will be launched in this month only. Delhi government is working with a goal of inaugurating 100 AAMs every month with 15 AAMs in each Assembly constituency and 150 in each parliamentary constituency.”

Smt. Gupta also underlined that “every hospital of Delhi has a Jan Aushadhi Kendra now that ensures access to medicines to all.” She also highlighted the efforts of the Delhi government to ensure transparency in the healthcare system while keeping corruption at bay.

Following sustained efforts by all stakeholders, the Department of Health and Family Welfare, NCT Delhi has issued Offers of Appointment to 1,388 Nursing Officers and 41 Paramedical Officers selected through the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB). Till now, 1,270 candidates have accepted the offers, and their document verification process is currently underway.

As of July 3, 2025, 557 Nursing Officers and 20 Paramedical Officials have successfully completed document verification. This significant recruitment drive is expected to address the acute shortage of nursing and allied healthcare professionals in Delhi’s hospitals to a great extent. In parallel, continuous efforts are being made to fill all existing and anticipated vacancies of doctors, nursing, and allied healthcare professionals arising due to retirements, promotions, and the creation of new posts. These actions are being undertaken proactively and simultaneously.

To accelerate the registration process and ensure maximum outreach, the deployment of 70 IEC (Information, Education & Communication) vans, each equipped with on-the-spot registration facilities and awareness campaign materials, is being undertaken. These vans will cover all 70 Assembly Constituencies of Delhi, facilitating registration for eligible low-income families and senior citizens. This initiative is expected to significantly expedite the generation of Ayushman Cards within the shortest possible timeframe. Each constituency has been allocated one dedicated IEC van for a duration of 30 days.

Senior officers from the Ministry and the government of NCT Delhi were also present at the occasion.

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HFW/HFM distributes appointment letters to Delhi Nursing Officers/06 July 2025/1