Nadda Opens 10 Critical Care Blocks, 12 Labs in Andhra Pradesh
Union Health Minister J P Nadda inaugurated 10 Critical Care Blocks and 12 Integrated Public Health Laboratories in Andhra Pradesh under PM-ABHIM.

Why in News
On 12 September 2026 Union Health Minister J P Nadda inaugurated 10 Critical Care Blocks and 12 Integrated Public Health Laboratories in Andhra Pradesh under PM-ABHIM, in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda inaugurated 10 Critical Care Blocks and 12 Integrated Public Health Laboratories in Andhra Pradesh on 12 September 2026. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was present. So was the state Health Minister, Satya Kumar Yadav. The facilities come under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, known as PM-ABHIM.
What the two kinds of facility do
A Critical Care Block gives advanced emergency and intensive care at the district level. An Integrated Public Health Laboratory gives diagnostic and disease surveillance capacity. The Minister described them as two sides of the same system. One saves a patient who is already critically ill. The other spots a disease threat before it grows into an emergency. He said the lesson of COVID-19 was that health security is national security.
The numbers behind the scheme
| Critical Care Blocks sanctioned in India | 631, across States and Union Territories |
| Approved for Andhra Pradesh | Rs 1,271.80 crore for the five-year scheme period |
| Critical Care Blocks for Andhra Pradesh | 24 sanctioned, at about Rs 606 crore |
| Laboratories for Andhra Pradesh | 26 sanctioned, with Rs 32.50 crore; civil work done on all, 14 already working |
| Inaugurated on the day | 10 Critical Care Blocks and 12 laboratories |
The wider health picture
The state funding covers four components. These are Critical Care Blocks, Integrated Public Health Laboratories, Urban Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and Rural Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. Mr Nadda placed the change in the frame of the National Health Policy of 2017, which linked preventive, primary, secondary and tertiary care together. He said more than 1.75 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs now work across the country. He said out-of-pocket expenditure on health has fallen to 43.4 per cent. He said 16 new AIIMS have come up in twelve years, taking the count to 23. He said vaccination records are now tracked digitally through U-WIN. He praised Andhra Pradesh for its work under Mission Indradhanush. He also praised the state's Sanjeevani programme, which takes health services to the doorstep and tests for 41 health parameters, and said its model could be studied for use elsewhere.
Important Facts
| Inaugurated by | Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda |
|---|---|
| Date and state | 12 September 2026, Andhra Pradesh |
| Facilities opened | 10 Critical Care Blocks and 12 Integrated Public Health Laboratories |
| Scheme | Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) |
| Also present | Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and state Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav |
| Critical Care Blocks sanctioned in India | 631, across States and Union Territories |
| Outlay for Andhra Pradesh | Rs 1,271.80 crore for the five-year scheme period |
| Blocks and labs for the state | 24 Critical Care Blocks at about Rs 606 crore; 26 laboratories with Rs 32.50 crore |
| Four components | Critical Care Blocks, Integrated Public Health Laboratories, Urban and Rural Ayushman Arogya Mandirs |
| Policy frame | National Health Policy, 2017 |
| State programme praised | Sanjeevani, with doorstep testing for 41 health parameters |
Exam Point of View
Remember the full form of PM-ABHIM, the two kinds of facility and what each does, the numbers inaugurated (10 blocks and 12 laboratories), the national figure of 631 Critical Care Blocks, the Andhra Pradesh outlay of Rs 1,271.80 crore with its four components, the National Health Policy year 2017, and the Sanjeevani programme with its 41 health parameters.
Practice Questions
Under which mission were the Critical Care Blocks and Integrated Public Health Laboratories in Andhra Pradesh built?
- A.National Health Mission
- B.Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission
- C.Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission
- D.Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission
Explanation
The correct answer is Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, shortened to PM-ABHIM. The Union Health Minister said the mission was framed after the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim of strengthening the ability of the health system to answer future pandemics and public health emergencies while routine healthcare continues without disruption. Option A, the National Health Mission, is an older umbrella programme for health services and is not the scheme under which these blocks and laboratories were sanctioned. Option C, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, deals with digital health records and identifiers rather than physical infrastructure. Option D, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, is the health assurance arm of Ayushman Bharat that pays for treatment, not the arm that builds critical care blocks. Candidates should keep the three Ayushman Bharat limbs apart in memory: insurance cover, digital records and health infrastructure.
How many Critical Care Blocks has the Government of India sanctioned across States and Union Territories under PM-ABHIM?
- A.431
- B.531
- C.631
- D.731
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 631
Explanation
The correct answer is 631. The Union Health Minister said that under PM-ABHIM the Government of India has sanctioned this many Critical Care Blocks across the States and Union Territories, creating a nationwide network of critical-care capacity. He contrasted this with an older way of thinking in which a hospital was measured only by its number of beds, and said a resilient health system needs critical-care capacity, oxygen and medical-gas systems, isolation facilities, trained staff, laboratory capacity and early outbreak detection. The other options are close neighbours of the right figure and are the sort of distractors a paper setter uses when the answer is a round-sounding number. For Andhra Pradesh in particular, 24 Critical Care Blocks have been sanctioned at an estimated investment of about Rs 606 crore, and 10 of them were inaugurated on the day of this announcement.
The Sanjeevani programme praised by the Union Health Minister belongs to which State, and how many health parameters does it test for?
- A.Telangana, 21 parameters
- B.Andhra Pradesh, 41 parameters
- C.Odisha, 31 parameters
- D.Karnataka, 51 parameters
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Andhra Pradesh, 41 parameters
Explanation
The correct answer is Andhra Pradesh, 41 parameters. Speaking at the inauguration of the new health facilities in the state, the Union Health Minister praised the Sanjeevani programme for carrying healthcare to people's doorsteps and making testing available for this many health parameters. He appreciated the state's approach of bringing screening closer to communities, said such initiatives are valuable models for strengthening primary healthcare, and expressed interest in examining whether the model could be replicated at the national level. Options A, C and D pair a neighbouring state with a different count of parameters, and each is plausible enough to catch a candidate who remembers the name of the programme but not the state or the number. The safe way to hold this fact is to attach Sanjeevani to Andhra Pradesh, the same state where the Critical Care Blocks and laboratories were opened on the same day.
According to the Union Health Minister, out-of-pocket expenditure on health in India has declined to what level?
- A.53.4 per cent
- B.48.2 per cent
- C.43.4 per cent
- D.38.6 per cent
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 43.4 per cent
Explanation
The correct answer is 43.4 per cent. The Minister cited the decline in out-of-pocket expenditure as an indicator of the growing financial protection available to citizens, and listed it alongside other outcomes of the health-system transformation. Out-of-pocket expenditure is the share of health spending that a household pays directly from its own pocket at the time of treatment, rather than through insurance or government funding, so a falling share signals that public schemes are absorbing more of the cost. In the same address he noted that institutional deliveries have crossed ninety per cent, that more than 1.75 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are working across the country, and that 16 new AIIMS have been set up in twelve years, taking the total to 23. The other options are nearby percentages of the kind used as distractors, and only the exact figure earns the mark.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does PM-ABHIM stand for?
Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission. It was framed to strengthen the health system against future pandemics while keeping routine care running.
How many Critical Care Blocks have been sanctioned in the country?
631, across States and Union Territories, under PM-ABHIM. Of these, 24 are sanctioned for Andhra Pradesh at about Rs 606 crore.
What is Andhra Pradesh's Sanjeevani programme?
A state programme that takes healthcare to people's doorsteps and offers testing for 41 health parameters. The Union Health Minister praised it as a model worth studying.
Sources
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