New Healthcare and Food Safety Initiatives to Enhance Quality and Ease of Doing Business Unveiled

The launch of the spot food license initiative is a groundbreaking new functionality for the instant issuance of licenses and registrations through the Food Safety and Compliance System (FoSCoS).

Union Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav and Smt. Anupriya Singh Patel, unveiled three significant initiatives at the आयुष्मान भारत, गुणवत्त स्वास्थ्य event today. These initiatives aim to enhance the quality of healthcare services and promote the ease of doing business in India.

The Union Ministers launched a virtual National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) assessment for Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAM), a dashboard to help national, state, and district health institutions monitor compliance with Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), and a spot food license and registration initiative for food vendors.

During the event, the Union Ministers conferred the virtually assessed health AAM-SC with the NQAS certificate. Additionally, the NQAS for Integrated Public Health Laboratories (IPHL) was released. These standards will improve the quality and competence of management and testing systems in IPHLs, positively impacting the reliability of test results and helping gain the trust of clinicians, patients, and the public. Revised guidelines for Kayakalp were also released.

The launch of the spot food license initiative is a groundbreaking new functionality for the instant issuance of licenses and registrations through the Food Safety and Compliance System (FoSCoS). FoSCoS is a state-of-the-art, pan-India IT platform designed to address all food safety regulatory needs, simplifying the licensing and registration processes and offering an enhanced user experience.

Addressing the session, Shri Prataprao Jadhav said that these initiatives are part of the government’s ongoing efforts to provide “Healthcare for All” and promote wellness. He highlighted the Union Government’s achievements in establishing over 1.73 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, doubling the number of medical colleges since 2014, increasing the number of AIIMS from 7 to 23, and more than doubling the number of PG and MBBS seats since 2014. “The government is committed to strengthening the healthcare system with more skilled human resources and quality infrastructure to tackle both present and future medical challenges,” he stated.

Smt. Anupriya Patel emphasized that the launch of the virtual NQAS assessment and dashboard, as well as the release of the two documents, will improve the quality of healthcare in public health facilities, while the launch of the spot food license will enhance the ease of doing business in India. She also noted that the government is working hard on building a robust and quality healthcare infrastructure by 2047, in accordance with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision.

Shri Apurva Chandra, Union Health Secretary, highlighted the government’s continued focus on quality and ease of doing business for its citizens. He stated that while the Union Government incentivizes states to get NQAS certification, it is equally important to disincentivize facilities that do not meet the minimum quality standards in healthcare services.

Shri G Kamala Vardhana Rao, CEO of FSSAI, stated that instant issuance of licenses and registrations through FoSCoS would significantly improve the ease of doing business in India and help contribute to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.

Earlier, healthcare workers from various health facilities across India shared their experiences of NQAS training, the journey towards getting their facilities NQAS certified, and the changes brought about by the certification. Food vendors from across the country also shared their experiences of receiving FSSAI licenses and registration for their stalls.