No free diagnostic services for women with more than three children: Assam Hospital

First reference unit in Barpeta Road town of Assam. Photo: lh3.googleusercontent.com

A government hospital in western Assam’s Barpeta district has decided not to provide free diagnostic services to any woman with more than three children or a woman expecting a fourth baby from July 1.

Announcing this on Monday (June 22, 2026), State Assembly Speaker Ranjeet Kumar Dass has also advised Health Minister Ashok Singhal to implement the system in all government health facilities across the state.

Mr. Dass, a local MLA, is the president of the management committee of the First Referral Unit (FRU) in Barpeta Road.

After the installation of a modern ultrasound machine at the FRU, he said its management committee decided not to extend free services to women with more than three children or women likely to give birth to a fourth child. “Otherwise our population policy will be defeated,” he said.

“I have also requested our health minister to come up with a pan-Assam policy that will end free medical tests and other services in all our facilities for such women,” Mr. Dass said.

In December 2025, the Government of Assam announced an amendment to the Population and Women Empowerment Policy 2017 to strengthen the two-child norm for government jobs, self-help groups and electoral participation.

However, Assam’s Population and Women Empowerment (Amendment) Policy 2025 allowed certain communities to have up to three children without losing access to government jobs and benefits and eligibility to stand for election to panchayats and urban local bodies.

These communities are Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, “Tea Garden Tribes” and Mataks and Morans. The policy came into effect immediately after the state Department of Health and Welfare issued a notification on December 5, 2025.

The government justified the announcement by saying it was trying to curb population growth, promote maternal health and eliminate early marriages.

Published – 22 Jun 2026 22:49 IST