This report, presented on April 27, was ‘on Demands for Grants (2016-17) of the Department of Health and Family Welfare’. It analysed the resource allocations to health made and promised in India’s national Budget of Feb 2016.

The article was published in HuffPost India on 05 May 2016. Here is the link.

Below is an excerpt:

Perhaps the most important observation is something that public health experts have also been repeatedly urging the government for the past several months: allocating more money for health. The report mentions: “India ranks 157 among 190 countries in terms of per capita government expenditure on health (annually only $44 PPP).” (Sri Lanka’s government devotes double of what our government does per person, and China’s, six times.)

The ‘total Plan budget’ for the Department of Health and Family Welfare for 2016-17 is ₹31,000 crore. The committee found it grossly inadequate and said:
“A minimum increase of ₹5000 crore would be required for launching (the recently proposed) free drugs, free diagnostics and free dialysis initiatives.”