Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Krishna Bahadur Mahara has announced that Bir Hospital would be upgraded to a high-tech international-level healthcare facility. 

While presenting the annual budget for the fiscal year 2017/18 at Parliament on Monday, Minister Mahara said the government would complete the reconstruction of the earthquake-hit health institutions within two years. The government has estimated a cost of Rs17 billion to restore 2,000 badly damaged health institutions and procure medical equipment. 

Mahara pledged to hand over operations of health institutions to the local levels. 

The budget has stated that the salaries of employees at the health institutions would be managed from the local level and that the maternal service, immunization, golden 1,000 days, family health, tuberculosis, malaria control and Ayurved health services would  be handed over to the grassroots level. 

The health programmes handed over to the local level would be monitored and supervised by the District Public Health offices, while the Health Insurance Programme would be expanded in all districts, according to the Finance Minister. The budget has also announced that an Ayurvedic university would be establish and the Drug Management Act would be revised, making operation of pharmacy services mandatory in all hospitals.