New Delhi: Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday reviewed healthcare delivery mechanisms in Rajasthan and Maharashtra, focusing on ways to fast-track the implementation of key national health initiatives. The review took place during a meeting with the health ministers and senior officials of the two states, according to a statement issued by the Union health ministry.

The discussions centred on strengthening public health infrastructure, improving patient-centric services, tightening regulatory frameworks, and advancing India’s goal of eliminating tuberculosis (TB) as a public health challenge.

Nadda called for the adoption of best regulatory practices and stressed that patient satisfaction, compliance, and effective regulatory supervision must be treated as a sustained and continuous effort. Reviewing the progress of the Free Drugs and Diagnostics Services Initiatives, he urged both states to address supply-chain inefficiencies and plug monitoring gaps to ensure uninterrupted availability of medicines and diagnostics.

The Union minister also emphasised the need to expand the network of Jan Aushadhi Kendras and AMRIT Pharmacy stores in Rajasthan and Maharashtra, saying that strengthening these facilities is crucial for widening access to quality and affordable medicines.

During the meeting, Rajasthan flagged the need for population-based establishment of Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, particularly to cater to scattered habitation patterns and ensure effective primary healthcare coverage. Nadda underlined that timely and quality diagnostics form the foundation of effective healthcare delivery and must be robustly integrated across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of care.

He also pointed out that while clinical services largely depend on doctors, hospital administration and regulatory compliance require professional management structures to function efficiently.

Reaffirming the national commitment to eliminating TB, Nadda stressed the importance of district- and block-specific strategies, with intensified screening, diagnostics, treatment adherence, and nutritional support. He said TB elimination efforts must be pursued in a mission mode, backed by close and regular monitoring at the grassroots level.

The health minister further proposed sensitisation workshops for MLAs, encouraging them to engage actively with chief medical officers and block medical officers through structured review mechanisms. He reiterated that people’s participation is essential for strengthening accountability, improving health outcomes, and building trust in public health systems.

Health ministers from Rajasthan and Maharashtra assured Nadda of their full cooperation and commitment to working closely with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to strengthen implementation and improve outcomes across all priority health programmes.

Nadda also reiterated the Centre’s continued support to both states through National Health Mission interventions, public-private partnership models, expansion of medical education capacity, viability gap funding, and infrastructure development support.

According to the statement, the Union health minister has held similar review meetings with the health ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Haryana over the past fortnight.