The Government of Gujarat has launched a first of its kind ‘Health Passport’ initiative under the School Health Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (SHRBSK) to create a comprehensive, lifelong health record for every child in the state from birth until the age of 18 years. The statewide programme was inaugurated on June 27, 2026, by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

Under the initiative, every child in Gujarat will receive a Health Passport, a comprehensive health record designed to document the child’s medical journey from infancy through adolescence. The passport will capture critical health information, including birth details, immunisation history, growth parameters, nutritional status, developmental milestones, school health screenings, laboratory investigations, disease history and healthcare interventions.

According to the Gujarat government, the initiative aims to strengthen preventive and primary healthcare by enabling early detection of diseases, improving continuity of care and facilitating timely medical interventions. The Health Passport is expected to serve as a unified health record system that can assist healthcare professionals, parents and educational institutions in monitoring a child’s health status over time.

The programme is being implemented through the School Health Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram, one of India’s largest child health screening initiatives. The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) currently covers children from birth to 18 years of age and focuses on the early identification and management of the 4Ds: Defects at birth, Diseases, Deficiencies and Developmental delays, including disabilities.

Public health experts have welcomed the initiative, noting that longitudinal health records can significantly improve disease surveillance, preventive healthcare planning and early diagnosis of childhood illnesses. They emphasize that comprehensive child health tracking systems can help reduce the burden of malnutrition, developmental disorders and non communicable diseases later in life.

India has made substantial progress in child health indicators over the past decade. According to the latest national estimates, the country’s under five mortality rate has declined to 32 deaths per 1,000 live births, while expanded immunization and school health programmes have contributed significantly to improvements in child survival and health outcomes. Experts believe that digital and longitudinal health records could further strengthen these gains.

The Health Passport initiative also aligns with India’s broader digital health transformation under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), which has facilitated the creation of more than 80 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) and linked over 100 crore digital health records nationwide. Integrating child health records with digital health infrastructure is expected to improve healthcare continuity and population health management.

Healthcare policy experts note that Gujarat’s Health Passport initiative represents an important step toward creating a life course approach to healthcare delivery, where health information can be tracked systematically across different stages of life. Such models are increasingly being adopted globally to improve preventive care and health outcomes.

The launch of the Health Passport programme underscores Gujarat’s commitment to strengthening child health services through technology enabled healthcare systems and may serve as a model for similar initiatives across other states in India.