From 10 to 50,000: The Journey of NQAS
The NQAS initiative began in 2015 with only 10 certified facilities, focusing on District Hospitals to promote patient-centric and quality-assured care. Over the years, the framework expanded to Sub-District Hospitals, Community Health Centres, Ayushman Arogya Mandirs–PHCs, AAM–UPHCs, and AAM–Sub Health Centres, institutionalising quality across all tiers of public healthcare.
Rapid expansion was aided by virtual assessments, allowing for faster scaling. Certified facilities grew from 6,506 in December 2023, to 22,786 in December 2024, and skyrocketed to 50,373 by December 2025, including 48,663 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and 1,710 secondary care facilities.
Accelerating Universal Health Coverage
The NQAS milestone reflects India’s commitment to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as outlined in the National Health Policy 2017. By ensuring quality and patient safety, the government aims to provide equitable, affordable, and high-quality healthcare, particularly for vulnerable and marginalised populations.
Multi-pronged strategies such as continuous capacity building, digital innovations, increasing the assessor pool, and quality improvement mechanisms have significantly accelerated the scale-up of NQAS across the country.
Institutionalising Quality Across Public Health
With 50,000+ facilities certified, quality is now an intrinsic part of India’s public healthcare system. This milestone exemplifies the principles of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the vision of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas”. The government has set a goal of certifying at least 50% of public healthcare facilities by March 2026, ensuring sustained focus on quality, safety, and patient-centred care.
Looking Ahead
India’s achievement demonstrates a collective resolve to build a resilient, high-quality public health system. Continuous expansion and digital innovations in quality assessments will further strengthen healthcare delivery, making quality and safety central to the nation’s development agenda.
