National Health Authority

Shri Mansukh Mandaviya,
Hon’ble Union Minster, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

Shri Mansukh Mandaviya is Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Chemical & Fertilizers in Government of India. Shri Mandaviya was born in a small village named Hanol in Palitana district of Gujarat state in a middle-class farmer’s family. He holds a Postgraduate degree in Political Science from Bhavnagar University.

Shri Mansukh Mandaviya was very active in politics and serving people since his youth. He became a member of ABVP and soon he grabbed his position as a state executive committee member of ABVP, Gujarat unit. Seeing his intellect, skills and the zeal to work hard he was appointed as a leader of Yuva Morcha and then the president of Palitana BJP unit. He also holds a record of being the youngest MLA in Gujarat.

Working hard to serve the people and uplifting them was his only goal and thus he organized two Padyatras of 123 Km and 127 Km for the cause of Girl Education, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao and Vayasan Hatao. At a young age of 38, he was elected as a member of Rajya Sabha. He was also a part of various standing committees in various fields.

With his hard work and intelligence, he was appointed as Secretary for state unit BJP in 2013 and General Secretary in 2014. Later in 2014, he was appointed as Gujarat State Incharge of BJP’s High-tech & Mega Membership Drive Campaign which led to 1 crore people joining BJP in Gujarat.

Shri Manukh Mandaviya is well known for his intellectual analysis and thought leadership, which he also exhibited in his speech on “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” at the United Nations.

On 5th July 2016, he sworn in as a Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Chemical & Fertilizers in Government of India. Serving as a minister, he has implemented a lot of plans and thoughts to get the work done quickly and efficiently.

He was re-elected for the Second Term for Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha during March, 2018.

With his decisive and bold leadership, he has helped increasing the per day road construction speed, decreasing the cost of Urea and other fertilizers, establishing more than 4000 Jan Aushadhi stores to provide more than 800 medicines at affordable rates and reducing the cost of heart stent and knee implants. Above this, he has not left any stone unturned to help the common man, farmers and businesses.

He has been a part of various delegations, twice with the President and once with vice president to sign MOUs and develop bilateral relations with other Nations. In the Asian Continent he has visited China, Israel, Oman, Nepal, Dubai and Uzbekistan. He also visited European countries like England & Germany, South American countries like Brazil & Argentina. He has visited lot many countries of Africa like Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Algeria, Hungary, Equatorial Guinea, Swaziland and Zambia. In an Oceania Region Shri Mandaviya visited New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji and Australia.

He has played a vital role in the growth and development of New India with his hard work, organizational skills and intellect.

Shri Mandaviya has been a part of various delegations, twice with the President and once with vice president to sign MOUs and develop bilateral relations with other Nations. In the Asian Continent, he has visited China, Israel, Oman, Nepal, Dubai and Uzbekistan. He also visited European countries like England, Germany & Hungary, South American countries like Brazil & Argentina. He has visited lot many countries in Africa like Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Swaziland and Zambia. In an Oceania Region, Shri Mandaviya visited New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji and Australia.

Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha from Dindori in the 2019 Indian General Election as the Member of Parliament from the ruling party, BJP. Dindora is a Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra. She has been awarded the Best Women Parliamentarian in December 2019. The doctor turned politician completed her MBBS degree in 2002 from NDMVP’s Medical College, Pune University.

The NHA is governed by a Governing Board chaired by the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Government of India; and is headed by a full-time Chief Executive Officer (CEO) supported by ABDM, Dy. CEO and Executive Directors. The CEO of the NHA functions as the Member Secretary of the Governing Board.

The Governing Board comprises of a Chairperson and 11 members.

• Chairperson: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India
• Member:Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog, Govt. of India (Ex Officio)
• Member: Secretary (Expenditure), Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India (Ex Officio)
• Member:Secretary (Health and Family Welfare), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India (ex-officio)
• Member 4 and 5: two domain experts from the fields such as Administrative, Insurance, Public and Private Health care providers, Economics, Public Health, Management etc.
• Member (6-10): Five principal secretaries (Health) of the state government (one representing each of the five zones of the country viz; North, east, South, west and North east) on a rotational basis, and
• Member: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Health Authority (Ex Officio)

• The Governing Board is the supreme decision-making authority of NHA and responsible for all matters related to PM-JAY and the Authority
• The Governing Board shall frame rules, regulations, guidelines and procedures for the selection, recruitment of the staff, personnel rules for the Authority
• All the major regulations issued in the name of Authority requires the approval of the Governing Board and shall follow a public consultation route in the interest of transparency
• The Governing Board may delegate the powers to CEO of NHA as deemed appropriate
• The Governing Board may form sub-committee for areas as deemed appropriate for smooth functioning of PM-JAY
• The Governing Board shall at least meet once a quarter to decide issues, protocols made by CEO of Authority
• The Governing Board shall periodically review the performance of NHA on such parameters as may be considered expedient by the board including expenditure of budgets allocated
• To effectively carry out tasks allotted, NHA through the Governing Board is responsible for the following
  1. Frame, amend and repeal policies and administrative and financial procedures related to hiring/retention/utilization/mobilization of resources, outsourcing of various tasks, budgetary support and release of funds including guidelines for bank accounts (escrow/other type of bank account as the case may be) for the management and administration of the Authority and for the conduct of the activities of the authority
  2. Acquire, hire or take on lease, construct property, movable or immovable, and provide their maintenance as may be necessary to carry out the objects of the Authority
  3. Initiate and enter into contracts and other such instruments by whatever names called to achieve the stated objects of Authority
  4. Receive budgetary support from the government of India. In addition, generate funds for the Authority if possible
  5. Develop strategic partnerships and collaborations with Central and State Governments, other Public and Private institutions including not-for profit institutions, banks, insurance companies, academic institutions including universities, missions, think tanks, and other national and international bodies of repute in areas relevant to the objectives of PM-JAY, and undertake any other role as required to reach its objectives effectively

A full time Chief Executive Officer (CEO), in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, is appointed by Central Government at NHA. The CEO is the Ex-Officio Member Secretary to the Governing Board and has complete operational control over the NHA for implementation of PM-JAY. However, for all policy matters, the CEO reports to the Governing Board and works under their guidance. He exercises all administrative powers within the Authority and over its staff, delegated to him by the Governing Board. The CEO also exercises the financial power of a Secretary to the Government of India as envisaged under GFR and Financial Rules & regulations of Government of India.

• The day-to-day administration of the Authority. For this purpose, he shall report to the Chairperson of the Governing Board,
• Implementing the work programmes and decisions adopted by the Authority,
• Drawing up of proposal for the Governing Board’s decisions and work programmes,
• The preparation of the statement of the revenue and expenditure and the execution of the budget of the authority,
• Performing such other functions, or exercising such other powers, as may be specified by regulations,
• Ensure compliance to rules, procedure, regulations related to selection and recruitment of the staff for the Authority, as laid by the Governing Board; and
• Any other activities as assigned by the Government of India from time to time.

Dr. Indu Bhushan, former-CEO of the National Health Authority (NHA), Government of India, mandated with the implementation of Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission(ABDM).

Dr. Bhushan is an ex-Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Indian Civil Services, 1983 Rajasthan cadre. He holds a Doctorate in Health Economics and a Master of Health Sciences from the Johns Hopkins University, USA. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology-Banaras Hindu University (IIT BHU) and IIT Delhi where he completed his B. Tech and Post-Graduate Diploma, respectively. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Dr. Bhushan is a bureaucrat-turned-economist with a career spanning 35 years across a multitude of sectors. He served for nine years in the IAS prior to leaving government service. Thereafter, he worked as Senior Economist with the World Bank Group prior to moving to ADB. Until his appointment as CEO, AB - PMJAY, he served as Director General, East Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He has held multiple positions within ADB including Director General, Strategy and Policy Department and led ADB’s engagement with the People's Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Mongolia, and Taiwan including management of $12.6 billion portfolio comprising of 113 projects. Dr. Bhushan administered and provided oversight to sectors like energy, environment, natural resources and agriculture, transport, public management, financial sector and regional cooperation, urban and social development. He also supervised ADB’s resident missions in the People’s Republic of China and Mongolia.

Dr. Bhushan lives in an empty nest in New Delhi, with his wife, Anjana, an ex-IAS officer, who works with the World Health Organisation (WHO). He has two daughters, Devika and Ambika, who are both medical doctors and live in the USA. He likes to play bridge and catch the latest movies and theatrical shows on the weekend.

Dr. Basant Garg is the Additional Chief Executive Officer (Addl CEO) of the National Health Authority (NHA). Dr. Garg (IAS:2005 Punjab) is also a qualified doctor from the Government Medical College, Chandigarh. He also has a Masters in Economics, a PG diploma in Urban Studies along with certification in Tax Analysis and Revenue Forecasting, Public Policy from the Duke University, USA.

As second-in-command at NHA, Dr. Garg is in charge of policy formulation, design, and implementation of flagship healthcare schemes of the Government of India - Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), which is the world’s largest government-sponsored health assurance scheme, and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), which aims to revolutionize digital healthcare access for all. He supervises the work of various verticals and coordinates with Ministries, International Organizations, State Governments, and other stakeholders.

Prior to his role at NHA, Dr. Garg served as the Private Secretary to Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Government of India. He had earlier served the Government of Punjab in various capacities. He was CEO, Smart City Jalandhar, where he spearheaded many smart city features such as Swachch Bharat Mission for solid waste management and the AMRUT mission for managing water supply and reuse of waste water. Dr. Garg has also served as Municipal Commissioner of Jalandhar and District Collector of Amritsar, Bathinda and Fazilka.

At the field level, Dr. Garg has been responsible for critical government interventions concerning socio-economic development, including those in public health. He is known for leading the fight against drug addiction in Bhatinda and Amritsar encouraging citizens to share information to get help for their loved ones by leveraging technology and setting up treatment centres and rehabilitation centres. In 2016, he was entrusted with organizing and managing the mega-event of “Heart of Asia” which is an international multilateral event where 46 countries participated and in 2016 it was held for the first time in a city that is not the national capital of the host country.

SHA is a nodal agency responsible for implementation of PM-JAY in the state headed by The CEO. SHA can hire additional staff or engaged Implementation Support (ISA) to perform required tasks for implementation of the scheme. CEO, SHA is appointed by the State government and is ex-officio member secretary of the Governing Council of the SHA. Along with day to day operations of implementation of PM-JAY in the state, SHA is also responsible for data sharing, verification and validation of family members, IEC, monitoring of the scheme etc.

• Policy related issues of State Health Assurance/ Insurance scheme and its linkage to PM-JAY
• Alliance of State scheme with PM-JAY
• Selection of Insurance Company through tendering process (if implementing PM-JAY through Insurance Companies)
• Selection of Implementation Support Agencies (in Trust/ society mode) if needed
• Awareness generation and demand creation
• Aadhaar seeding and issuing print out of E-card to validated beneficiaries
• Empanelment of network hospitals which meet the criteria
• Monitoring of services provided by health care providers
• Fraud and abuse control
• Punitive actions against the providers for fraud and corrupt practices
• Monitoring of pre-authorizations which are already approved by Insurer/ISA
• Administration of hospital claims which are already approved by Insurer/ ISA
• Package price revisions or adaptation of PM-JAY list
• Adapting PM-JAY treatment protocols for listed therapies to State needs
• Adapting operational guidelines in consultation with NHA, where necessary
• Forming grievance redressal committees and overseeing the grievance redressal function
• Capacity development planning and undertaking capacity development initiatives
• Development of proposals for policy changes –e.g. incentive systems for public providers and implementation thereof
• Management of funds through the Escrow account set up for purposes of premium release to Insurance Company under PM-JAY
• Data management
• Evaluation through independent agencies
• Setting up District level offices and hiring of staff for District
• Oversee District level offices
• Preparation of periodic reports based on scheme data and implementation status
• Implementing incentive systems for ASHA workers & public providers in line with national guidance

In addition to the State level entity, a District Implementation Unit (DIU) is also established to support the implementation in every district included under the scheme. This team will be in addition to the team deployed by the insurance company/ ISA. The DIU will be chaired by the Deputy Commissioner/ District Magistrate/ Collector of the district. This Unit is to coordinate with the implementing agency (ISA/insurer) and the network hospitals to ensure effective implementation and also send review reports periodically. The DIU has to work closely and coordinate with the District Chief Medical officer and his/her team.