-IANS   In a major boost to the healthcare sector, total government expenditure on health would be increased to 2.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2017, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Wednesday. The decision was taken in a meeting held in the PMO on the government's priorities in health sector, particularly over the next five years. "The meeting decided that we must work towards increasing the total government health...

While welcoming the report of the High Level Expert Group on Universal Health Coverage for India for its comprehensive vision and many well-conceived recommendations, this article focuses on the conditions needed for its promise to bear fruit. Towards this, it explores the political dimension, which comprises the forces and interests that come into play to shape and reconfigure administrative policy and its implementation.   We are grateful to Anand Zachariah and Susie...

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is likely to run into a debate on public health policy after the Planning Commission moved to nix a proposal to include healthcare in the list of public entitlements such as education and food. Central to the proposal—initiated by a high-level expert group (HLEG) headed by K. Srinath Reddy, a leading advocate of preventive cardiology and president of the Public Health Foundation of India—was the...

In an indication that the ruling Congress may be looking to evolve a comprehensive social security package ahead of the next general election, the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) has started a consultative process with four central government ministries aimed at linking existing and new schemes for the huge unorganized sector. The plan, according to an NAC member, is to issue one entitlement card to every worker in the unorganized...

An average Indian uses less than half the amount of water consumed by an average American, but India is the world’s largest net virtual water exporter, using more domestic water resources for export products than any other country, says a study. India’s per capita water consumption is 1,089,000 litres per year, while the average US consumer uses 2,842,000 litres, but trade leaves India with a net virtual water export of 95,000...