No shortcuts to hiking health spend to 2.5% of GDP
The article critically analyzes India's healthcare system, highlighting the persistent low public health expenditure (1.4% of GDP against the 2017 National Health Policy target of 2.5%). It discusses the challenges in regulating the dominant private healthcare sector, citing the ineffectiveness of the Clinical Establishments Act, 2010, and the government's stance that 'health is a State subject' in Supreme Court proceedings. The piece also points out the problematic nature of a Parliamentary Standing Committee's report, the influx of private equity leading to healthcare inflation, and the limited impact of government schemes like PMJAY due to implementation issues and lack of oversight.
The article critically analyzes India's healthcare system, highlighting the persistent low public health expenditure (1.4% of GDP against the 2017 National Health Policy target of 2.5%). It discusses the challenges in regulating the dominant private healthcare sector, citing the ineffectiveness of the Clinical Establishments Act, 2010, and the government's stance that 'health is a State subject' in Supreme Court proceedings. The piece also points out the problematic nature of a Parliamentary Standing Committee's report, the influx of private equity leading to healthcare inflation, and the limited impact of government schemes like PMJAY due to implementation issues and lack of oversight.
Exam linkage
GS Paper II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice (Welfare Schemes and Social Sector Management).
Syllabus mapping
This topic appears in Mains
Questions on Indian Polity & Governance come up regularly in GS papers. Practice writing an answer — and see exactly what earns marks.
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