-Down to Earth Now, government has promised ‘world’s largest health scheme’ whose implementation is not possible, at least in 2018. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) used the phrase ‘quality health for all’ in its manifesto when Narendra Modi was pushing for his prime ministerial candidature in 2014. It gave hope to many who were campaigning for robust healthcare system in India. However, with the government completing four years...

-PTI NEW DELHI: India ranks 145th among 195 countries in terms of quality and accessibility of healthcare, behind its neighbours like China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, according to a Lancet study. The Global Burden of Disease study, however, mentioned that India has seen improvements in healthcare access and quality since 1990. In 2016, India's healthcare access and quality scored at 41.2 (up from 24.7 in 1990). "Although India's improvements on the (healthcare access...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A study has ranked India 145 among 195 countries and lower than China, Bangladesh and Sudan on health care access and quality, measured through their capacities to prevent premature deaths from 32 diseases. The study by an international consortium of researchers has revealed India's gains over time but widening gap between best and worst scores within the country, a finding that public health experts say possibly reflects inequities...

-The Hindu Business Line Because they are wealthier and have a lower population than northern States New Delhi: The southern States are less dependent on transfers from the Centre than many of their northern peers, but a cut in transfers could leave their fiscal situation precariously poised and upset some of their expenditure plans. That is exactly what they fear will happen when the 15th Finance Commission uses the 2011 population data —...

-The Economic Times New Delhi: The government is planning to rope in domain experts from within and outside the country to ensure a smooth rollout and monitoring of ‘Ayushman Bharat’, its ambitious health insurance scheme for the poor. Niti Aayog, the government’s premier think tank, will come out with guidelines for setting up the project monitoring unit (PMU) for Ayushman Bharat, also known as National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), an official told...