'Healthcare for all to cost Rs 1 lakh crore'

To make healthcare for all a reality by 2010, an investment of Rs 100,000 crore would be needed, according to a joint study by Confederation of Indian Industry's Health Committee and Escorts Heart Institute & Research Centre (EHIRC).

"If we had to meet the target of taking healthcare to all parts of the country, it would need Rs 100,000 crore or $150 billion, which was short by about 60 per cent. This was a challenge as well an opportunity for NGOs and foreign investors to join hands," said CII Health Committee chairman and EHIRC executive director Naresh Trehan.