The Central government has released the Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV FC) health sector grant amounting to over Rs 151 crore for improving rural diagnostic infrastructure in West Bengal, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj said on Thursday, October 9.
The grant is under the component “Support for Diagnostic Infrastructure to the Primary Healthcare Facilities for the Sub-Centres (for Rural)” for the year 2024-25.
According to the PIB, "This grant supports the Healthy Panchayat vision under LSDGs, promoting health and well-being for all through local governance. It also helps to strengthen the goal of 'Viksit Bharat @2047 through Healthy Panchayats', fostering resilient and sustainable rural communities."
The amount released will help strengthen the diagnostic infrastructure in the rural areas. This grant will benefit people in villages under Panchayati Raj.
The XV FC Health Sector Grants are released by the Ministry of Finance on the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the ministry noted that the states must ensure that it does not get duplicated with other schemes.
“States are required to ensure that the funds are utilised strictly as per the operational and technical guidelines issued by the Government of India, and that there is no duplication with other schemes such as the National Health Mission (NHM) or the Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PM-ASBY),” the Ministry said.
The grant is released for 3,224 gram panchayats, 335 block panchayats, and 21 zilla parishads across West Bengal.
