Institutions for allied health professionals to be upgraded, new centres to come up

Rs 1,000 crore have been allocated to the scheme which aims to train one lakh such professionals over the next five years; will help in dealing with increasing non-communicable diseases caused by changing lifestyle, says health minister

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 1, 2026 07:26 PM IST

The training institutes will cover 10 selected disciplines, including optometry, radiology, anaesthesia, operation theatre (OT) technology, applied psychology and behavioural health. (Source: Pexels)

Institutions for allied health professionals will be upgraded and new centres established in the private and government sector to train one lakh professionals over the next five years, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday.

The training institutes will cover 10 selected disciplines, including optometry, radiology, anaesthesia, OT technology, applied psychology and behavioural health, according to Sitharaman.

Rs 1,000 crore have been allocated to a scheme for allied health professionals, according to the budget documents. “To deal with the increasing non-communicable diseases caused by changing lifestyle, allied healthcare institutes are being strengthened. And, over the next five years, one lakh professionals will be trained. This will generate employment for the youth and the effectiveness of healthcare services will improve,” Union Health Minister JP Nadda said in a video released after the budget.

The total outlay for the department of health has increased from Rs 95,957 crore to Rs 1.01 lakh crore. And, the outlay for the department of health research has increased significantly from Rs 3,900 crore to Rs 4,821 crore.

This announcement is significant, said Dr Yagna Unmesh Shukla, chairperson of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Profession. She said: “This has been a neglected area, with medical care being doctor-centric so far. The announcement in the budget is recognition of creating a more teamwork-focused care. It will open new avenues for employment.”

She added: “With the creation of the regulatory body, standardisation and quality control has been brought into the training of allied health professionals. We have released a uniform curriculum and will start the registration process for those working in the 57 listed allied professions.”

Sitharaman said that a strong “care system” will be created for geriatric patients. She said that programmes aligned with the National Skills Qualifications Framework will be developed for training multi-skill caregivers “combining core care and allied skills such as wellness, yoga, and operation of medical assistive devices.”

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Dr Prasun Chatterjee, former professor of geriatrics at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, said, “As the country ages, there is a need for caregivers who are able to provide comprehensive care to the elderly. A push from the government will help in clearly defining the role of these care workers, standardise their training, ensure good pay, and most importantly, guarantee respect. A problem we face frequently is that many trained caregivers quit the profession because of a lack of respect — they are usually treated as house help and asked to chip in for various chores. This should not happen.”

This is particularly significant considering India’s ageing population. At the time of the 2011 census, only 8.6% of India’s population was over the age of 60 years. This proportion is, however, expected to increase to 19.5% by 2050, according to the government’s Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI). In terms of absolute numbers, the number of people over the age of 60 years is likely to increase from 103 million in 2011 to 319 million in 2050.This was one of the reasons the government expanded its flagship Ayushman Bharat health insurance to those who are 70 years and above.

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More