- Why in news
- On 7 January 2026 the Health Ministry announced that 50,373 public health facilities had been certified under NQAS as of 31 December 2025, crossing the 50,000 mark.
- What it is
- NQAS is a quality framework of the Union Health Ministry for public health facilities. It sets standards that facilities are assessed against, and a facility that meets them is certified. It began with District Hospitals and now covers all levels of public care.
- Total certified
- 50,373 public health facilities were NQAS-certified as of 31 December 2025.
- Start
- The scheme began in 2015 with 10 certified facilities, first for District Hospitals.
- Coverage expansion
- It was extended to Sub-District Hospitals, CHCs, AAM-PHCs, AAM-UPHCs and AAM-Sub Health Centres.
- Growth
- Certified facilities rose from 6,506 (Dec 2023) to 22,786 (Dec 2024) to 50,373 (Dec 2025), helped by virtual assessments.
- Composition
- The total includes 48,663 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and 1,710 secondary care facilities.
- Target
- Interim goal: NQAS certification for at least 50% of public health facilities by March 2026.
Don’t confuse with NQAS vs LaQshya: NQAS is a general quality certification for public health facilities. LaQshya is a separate programme to improve quality of care in labour rooms and maternity operation theatres.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Certification builds standard, patient-centred quality across all tiers of public care, aiding equitable access.
Problems
- Certification does not by itself ensure sustained quality; virtual assessments may be less rigorous than on-site ones.
Way forward
- Link certification to periodic reassessment, public reporting and action on gaps.
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- 2005Prelims Q74Which statements on ISO headquarters and ISO 9000/14000 quality standards are correct?
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- 2026Prelims Q29Implications of Oeko-Tex certification for Eri Silk's international standards compliance
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Single answer
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following statements about the National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) of India's public health system: 1. NQAS is a quality framework established by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 2. NQAS certification began with Primary Health Centres and was later extended to District Hospitals. 3. Most of the NQAS-certified facilities as of December 2025 are secondary care facilities such as District Hospitals. 4. Virtual assessments have helped expand NQAS certification coverage.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
True or false?
1 of 5
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.NQAS is a quality framework established by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
True. NQAS was established by MoHFW.
2.NQAS certification was initially focused on Primary Health Centres before being extended to District Hospitals.
False. It began with District Hospitals and was later extended to lower levels.
3.The framework now covers Ayushman Arogya Mandir sub health centres and urban primary health centres.
True. It covers AAM-SHCs, AAM-PHCs and AAM-UPHCs.
4.Virtual assessments were introduced for NQAS certification and helped rapidly expand coverage.
True. Virtual assessments sped up the scale-up.
5.The interim goal is NQAS certification for at least 50% of public health facilities by March 2026.
True. The target is at least 50% by March 2026.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.