The Mission is divided into two parts based on the area it serves:
1. NRHM/ National Rural Health Mission
The National Rural Health Mission focuses on providing standard and affordable healthcare services to the country's rural population, emphasising vulnerable sections.
NRHM will cover cities or towns with less than 50,000 population. It gives special preference to the Empowered Action Group States, which are socio-economically weaker states such as Bihar and Jharkhand, to name a few. It also covers Jammu and Kashmir, North-Eastern states, Himachal Pradesh, etc.
This scheme aims to establish decentralised health care services and take actionable steps to provide rural population access to sanitation, water, healthcare, education, nutrition and gender and social equality. NRHM or NHM has implemented several initiatives such as ASHA, Rogi Kalyan Samiti or Hospital Management Society, etc.
2. NUHM/ National Urban Health Mission
Launched in 2013, National Urban Health Mission aims to provide urban populations, especially vulnerable sections and urban poor, access to primary healthcare facilities. It encompasses district headquarters, State capitals and cities or towns with a population of 50,000 and above, according to the census 2011 in a gradual manner.
It aims to build a service delivery system through Urban – Primary Health Centres, Urban-Community Health Centres and Referral Hospitals etc.
This scheme is implemented in metropolitan cities like – Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru through Urban Local Bodies. The State Health Department determines whether a health department or urban local body will implement the National Urban Health Mission in remaining cities.