India crosses historic milestone of 50000 NQAS certifications in public healthcare
Crossing the 50,000 mark represents a major strengthening of India’s public health system and its ability to deliver consistent, quality-assured services nationwide, the ministry said.
New Delhi, January 7: India has crossed a major milestone in strengthening the quality of public healthcare, with over 50,000 public health facilities certified under the National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) as of December 31, 2025. A total of 50,373 facilities across states and union territories have now been certified under the quality framework established by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, marking a significant leap towards patient-centred and safe healthcare delivery.
The achievement underscores the government’s commitment to quality, safety and equity in healthcare, particularly for poor, vulnerable and marginalised populations, an official statement said on Wednesday. Crossing the 50,000 mark represents a major strengthening of India’s public health system and its ability to deliver consistent, quality-assured services nationwide, the ministry said.
The National Quality Assurance Standards initiative began in 2015 with just 10 certified facilities, initially focused on district hospitals. Over the years, the framework has expanded systematically to include sub-district hospitals, community health centres, Ayushman Arogya Mandir–primary health centres, urban primary health centres and sub-health centres, enabling quality assurance across all levels of public healthcare.
A key driver of the rapid expansion has been the introduction of virtual assessments for NQAS certification. Certified facilities increased sharply from 6,506 in December 2023 to 22,786 in December 2024, before more than doubling to 50,373 by December 2025. Of these, 48,663 are Ayushman Arogya Mandirs across sub-health centres, PHCs and UPHCs, while 1,710 are secondary care facilities, including community health centres, sub-district hospitals and district hospitals.
India’s progress on NQAS aligns with its broader pursuit of universal health coverage under the National Health Policy 2017, which emphasises affordable, quality healthcare without financial hardship. The accelerated scale-up reflects a multi-pronged strategy that includes continuous capacity building, digital innovations, a substantial expansion of the assessor pool and sustained quality improvement mechanisms.
Crossing the 50,000 NQAS certification milestone highlights India’s collective resolve to build a resilient, self-reliant and high-quality public health system. The achievement reflects the principles of inclusive development and reinforces the central role of quality healthcare in India’s growth and social development.
The government has reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining and expanding NQAS coverage further, with an interim target of certifying at least 50 per cent of public healthcare facilities by March 2026, embedding quality, safety and patient-centred care as enduring attributes of public healthcare delivery across the country.
