We Need a Leap in Healthcare Spending

India’s per capita expenditure on health remains among the lowest in the world. It’s a fact that sticks out starkly: 10.6% of the total amount in the Interim Budget is allocated to defence, while only 2.2% is allocated to healthcare. Funding need not be redirected from current allocations to preventive care, but surely India can make health spending a priority, much like defence.

At present, health spending is only 1.15-1.5% of GDP.

What Interim Budget Offers to Healthcare

While the Interim Budget is responsive to the needs of farmers and the middle class, it does not adequately respond to the needs ....