National Policy for Rare Diseases 2021 Released

Tags:
GS-II
Health

National Policy for Rare Diseases 2021 Released

The Union Health Ministry recently released the policy.

Rare Diseases: WHO defines a rare disease as a lifelong disease or disorder that often highly weakens an individual. It has a prevalence of 1 or less per 1000 population.

Example: Haemophilia, Thalassemia, Sickle cell anaemia, and auto-immune diseases among others.
However, every country has its own definition of rare diseases.
The US defines rare diseases as a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 patients in the country.
Likewise, the EU defines rare diseases as life-threatening or chronically debilitating (weakening) conditions. It should affect no more than 5 in 10,000 people.

About National Policy For Rare Diseases,2021:

Aim: The policy aims to lower the incidence and prevalence of rare diseases based on an integrated and comprehensive preventive strategy.
The strategy includes awareness generation, counselling programmes, and providing affordable Health Care among others.

Key Features of the National Policy For Rare Diseases, 2021:

Categorisation: The policy categorizes rare diseases into three groups:
- Group 1: Disorders amenable to one-time curative treatment;
- Group 2: Diseases requiring long-term or lifelong treatment; and
- Group 3: Diseases for which definitive treatment is available, but challenges are to make an optimal patient selection for benefit.
Government Support:
- The government will provide Financial support of up to Rs. 20 lakh under the Umbrella Scheme of Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi for the treatment of those rare diseases listed under Group 1.
- Moreover, Beneficiaries of such financial assistance would not be limited to BPL families.
  - About 40% of the population, eligible under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, will also be eligible for assistance.
- For group 2, the State Governments can consider supporting specific patients.
  - It includes a rare disease that can be managed with special diets or hormonal supplements or other relatively low-cost interventions (Diseases listed under Group 2).
Voluntary Crowdfunding: The government has said that it will assist in voluntary crowd-funding for the treatment of Group 3. It is because it will be difficult to fully finance the treatment of high-cost rare diseases in Group 3.

Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi scheme:

It provides financial assistance to patients living below the poverty line and who are suffering from major life-threatening diseases, to receive medical treatment.

Source: TH

Join Our Telegram

AI Impact Summit 2026: IndiaAI Mission, MANAV Vision & Global AI Governance | UPSC GS-3 S&T

India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) – UPSC GS-2 Indo-Pacific Notes

20 Nov, 25
SHARE

India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) UPSC GS-2 INDO PACIFIC – IR/PSIR IPOI is India’s open, voluntary and non-treaty-based maritime initiative for building a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific through practical cooperation. Why in News? India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative has gained renew

AI Impact Summit 2026: IndiaAI Mission, MANAV Vision & Global AI Governance | UPSC GS-3 S&T

19 May, 26
SHARE

AI Impact Summit 2026 UPSC GS-3 S&T PT-MAINS The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 positioned India as a Global South leader by shifting global AI debate from only AI safety and regulation to AI for development, inclusion and real-world impact. Why in News? India hosted the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 at B

Hong Kong Convention for Safe Ship Recycling – IMO Treaty & India’s Ship Recycling Law | UPSC GS-3 Environment

27 Jun, 25
SHARE

Hong Kong Convention for Safe Ship Recycling UPSC GS-3 ENVIRONMENT PT-MAINS The Hong Kong International Convention, 2009 is an IMO treaty that ensures ships are recycled safely without unnecessary risk to human health, worker safety and the environment. Why in News? The Hong Kong Convention entered into force on 26 June 2

LeadIT 2.0: India-Sweden Initiative for Low-Carbon Industry Transition | UPSC GS-2 & GS-3

14 Nov, 23
SHARE

LeadIT 2.0: Leadership Group for Industry Transition UPSC GS-2 IR GS-3 S&T LeadIT 2.0 is the second phase of the India-Sweden-led global initiative to support low-carbon transition in hard-to-abate industrial sectors. Why in News? The second phase of LeadIT was announced at the LeadIT Summit 2023, ho

India-EFTA TEPA: Trade & Economic Partnership Agreement Explained | UPSC GS-2 IR/PSIR

03 Sep, 25
SHARE

India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement UPSC GS-2 IR/PSIR The India-EFTA TEPA is a comprehensive trade pact between India and four non-EU European countries — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland — aimed at boosting trade, investment, jobs, services, technology and supply-chain resilience. Wh