India has achieved a major milestone in its public healthcare journey, with more than 50,000 government health facilities now certified under the National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS), marking a significant leap in quality, safety and patient-centred care across the country.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), a total of 50,373 public health facilities across all States and Union Territories had received NQAS certification as of December 31, 2025. The achievement underscores the Government of India’s sustained efforts to strengthen the quality of healthcare services, particularly for poor, vulnerable and marginalised populations.
The NQAS programme, launched in 2015, began with just 10 certified facilities and initially focused on district hospitals. Over the years, its scope has expanded systematically to cover sub-district hospitals, community health centres (CHCs), and primary-level facilities including Ayushman Arogya Mandirs—Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Urban PHCs (UPHCs) and Sub Health Centres (SHCs). This expansion has enabled quality assurance mechanisms to be embedded across all tiers of the public healthcare system.
A key driver behind the rapid scale-up has been the introduction of virtual assessments for NQAS certification. Certified facilities increased from 6,506 in December 2023 to 22,786 by December 2024, before more than doubling to 50,373 by December 2025. Of the total, 48,663 are Ayushman Arogya Mandirs at the primary level, while 1,710 are secondary care facilities, including CHCs, sub-district hospitals and district hospitals.
The sharp rise in certifications reflects a multi-pronged strategy adopted by the government, including continuous capacity building of healthcare workers, digital innovations, a significant expansion of the assessor pool and the strengthening of continuous quality improvement processes.
The milestone is closely aligned with India’s broader goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as outlined in the National Health Policy 2017, which emphasises access to affordable, high-quality healthcare without financial hardship. Officials said the progress made under NQAS demonstrates the institutionalisation of quality as a core component of public healthcare delivery.
Crossing the 50,000 mark is being seen as a testament to India’s collective commitment to building a resilient and self-reliant health system, in line with the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the principles of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas”.
According to the ministry, the government has reiterated its commitment to sustaining and expanding the quality initiative further. An interim target has been set to achieve NQAS certification for at least 50 per cent of public healthcare facilities by March 2026, reinforcing the focus on making quality, safety and patient-centred care an enduring feature of India’s public health system.
