CM Bhupendra Patel Launches Health Passport for Gujarat's Children
Synopsis
Gujarat's Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has launched the 'Health Passport', a digital master health document for 1.89 crore children up to age 18. Issued on-the-spot by 992 mobile health teams under RBSK, it tracks medical history, nutrition, and 4D conditions, linked to a central digital portal.
Key Takeaways
Gujarat's Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has launched the 'Health Passport' , a digital master child health document, on 1 July 2026 .
The scheme covers 1.89 crore children up to the age of 18 years across Gujarat.
992 mobile health teams will conduct annual screenings and issue passports on-the-spot.
The passport tracks complete medical history, nutrition levels, and four categories of diseases (4Ds) from birth to adolescence.
The document is integrated with a digital portal and operates under the national Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) framework.
Renewal is handled by PHC Medical Officers for children under five or out-of-school, and by school principals for enrolled students.
The Chief Minister's Office of Gujarat announced on Wednesday, 1 July 2026 that the state government, under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, has launched the 'Health Passport' — a digital child health document designed to track the medical history, nutrition levels, and disease screening of children from birth to age 18 across Gujarat.
Context
The CMO Gujarat post, written in Gujarati, described the initiative as a new milestone towards 'Swasth Gujarat, Sashakt Bharat' ('Healthy Gujarat, Empowered India'). The scheme is framed as fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Swasth Baalpan' ('Healthy Childhood') as the foundation of a 'Swasth Bharat' ('Healthy India'). The Health Passport is positioned as a state-level innovation layered onto the existing central government framework.
Under the scheme, children up to the age of 18 years will be screened annually by 992 mobile health teams, with the passport issued on the spot. The post states that 1.89 crore children across Gujarat are covered under this programme.
Policy Backdrop
The Health Passport operates under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), the national child health screening programme launched in 2013 under the National Health Mission. RBSK was designed to screen children aged 0 to 18 for four categories of conditions — birth defects, deficiencies, diseases, and developmental delays — collectively referred to as the '4Ds'.
Gujarat's Health Passport adds a portable, integrated digital layer to this framework. The document is described as a 'Master Child Health Document' that will be linked to a digital portal, consolidating a child's complete medical history, nutritional status, and 4D tracking from birth through adolescence. This approach mirrors broader national efforts under Ayushman Bharat and the National Digital Health Mission to build longitudinal electronic health records for citizens.
Stakeholders and Impact
The renewal mechanism distinguishes between two groups. For children under five years of age and those not enrolled in school, the Health Passport will be renewed annually by the Medical Officer at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in their area. For school-going students, the card will be renewed by the school principal, integrating the health tracking process into the existing school administration system.
The scheme directly targets Gujarat's children as primary beneficiaries, while PHC medical officers and school principals become key operational stakeholders responsible for annual record updates. The 992 mobile health teams will serve as the primary field delivery mechanism, reaching children in communities across the state's 33 districts.
What's Next
The immediate focus will be on the rollout of the integrated digital portal and the commencement of the first annual screening cycle across all districts. The success of the programme will hinge on the capacity of the 992 mobile health teams to achieve full coverage of the stated 1.89 crore target beneficiaries within the first year.
Analysts will watch whether Gujarat's model of combining on-the-spot passport issuance with a centralised digital portal can serve as a replicable template for other states seeking to strengthen child health tracking under the RBSK framework. The programme's integration with national digital health infrastructure will be a key indicator of its long-term scalability.
Point of View
The state is attempting to institutionalise child health tracking within existing administrative structures rather than creating a parallel bureaucracy. The explicit invocation of PM Modi's 'Swasth Bharat' vision signals political alignment with the Centre while asserting Gujarat's identity as a policy innovator. The real test will be whether the digital portal integration can survive the operational pressures of screening nearly two crore children annually across 33 districts.
NationPress
1 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Gujarat Health Passport scheme?
The Gujarat Health Passport is a digital child health document launched by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel that tracks a child's complete medical history, nutrition levels, and screening for four categories of diseases from birth to age 18. It is issued on-the-spot by mobile health teams and linked to a central digital portal.
How many children are covered under the Gujarat Health Passport?
According to the Chief Minister's Office of Gujarat, the scheme covers 1.89 crore children up to the age of 18 years across the state.
What is RBSK and how does the Health Passport relate to it?
The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) is a national child health screening programme launched in 2013 under the National Health Mission to screen children for birth defects, deficiencies, diseases, and developmental delays. Gujarat's Health Passport operates under this framework, adding a portable digital record and annual renewal mechanism.
Who renews the Gujarat Health Passport every year?
For children under five and those not in school, the Health Passport is renewed annually by the Medical Officer at the local Primary Health Centre. For school-going students, the school principal is responsible for annual renewal.
What are the 4Ds tracked in the Gujarat Health Passport?
The '4Ds' refer to the four main categories screened under the RBSK framework: birth defects, deficiencies, diseases, and developmental delays. The Health Passport tracks these conditions from birth through adolescence as part of a child's master health record.
