The Karnataka government has earmarked ₹900 crore in the 2026–27 financial year to strengthen primary health centres, community health centres and taluk hospitals, with the funding directed towards building repairs, medical equipment and improved outpatient and inpatient services.
The planned works are intended to expand the quality of medical care available in rural areas and reduce patient pressure on hospitals in district headquarters. According to the report, the government has prepared an action plan covering outpatient departments and inpatient departments at primary, community and taluk-level facilities.
The state also plans to connect government and private medical colleges with public health facilities. Each medical college will adopt one taluk hospital, community health centre and primary health centre, and provide specialist medical services, training, quality improvement support and other healthcare assistance. Health centres to be adopted will be identified district-wise, after which agreements will be signed between medical college heads and district health officers.
The initiative is being implemented under the Chief Minister’s 100-day programme. The report did not identify the specific facilities selected for adoption or provide a district-wise breakdown of the ₹900 crore allocation. It also did not specify a completion timeline for the proposed repairs and equipment installation.
Emergency and critical-care capacity is also being expanded across government health institutions. The measures include strengthening intensive care units, emergency care units and medical oxygen-based treatment facilities in phases. The state has expanded the capacity of oxygen-supported beds, ICUs and ventilators at government health institutions, according to the report.
The Health Department has additionally reallocated specialist doctors at taluk hospitals to improve maternal care. The move is intended to ensure that teams capable of conducting deliveries are available around the clock, with the department expecting improvements in care for mothers and newborns and a reduction in deaths during childbirth.
The government is also preparing to extend the ‘Gruha Arogya’ doorstep healthcare programme to urban areas. The programme was launched on a pilot basis in Kolar in October 2024 and expanded across Karnataka in June 2025. Health checks and medicine distribution are currently being carried out in rural areas, while medical staff have received training for the proposed urban expansion.
Another measure cited in the report is the ‘Dr Puneeth Rajkumar Hrudaya Jyoti’ programme, which provides early cardiac screening and treatment support at the taluk level. More than 12 lakh people have undergone electrocardiograms under the programme in three years. The scheme was expanded across the state in March 2024 after an initial taluk-level rollout, with the stated aim of providing treatment during the critical first hour after a heart attack.
The state has also intensified food safety inspections at hotels, restaurants and catering establishments over the past one and a half months. Officials have conducted raids in Bengaluru, including at star hotels, clubs and warehouses operated by e-commerce companies, and seized expired or substandard food. Action has also been taken against centres selling medicines without licences. The Food Safety and Standards Act has been used to issue notices to businesses found violating regulations.
The Food Safety Department has further prohibited the sale of junk food within school and college campuses and within a 50-metre radius of them. The measure is aimed at improving access to safe and healthier food for students. The immediate next steps for the health infrastructure programme are the district-wise identification of facilities, formalisation of medical college partnerships and phased strengthening of critical-care capacity.
