Modi govt pares back planned funding for crucial public health scheme

Officials familiar with the plan said the finance ministry reduced planned funding because of other spending priorities and because of state govts' poor track record of spending the health budgets

India has approved a three-year budget for its flagship public health programme almost 20 per cent lower than what the health ministry said was needed, according to sources and previously unreported government documents reviewed by Reuters. 
 

The federal finance ministry in August renewed the National Health Mission with $20 billion of funding between 2017-20, against the health ministry’s estimated requirement of $25 billion, the documents showed.

Officials familiar with the plan said the finance ministry reduced planned funding because of other spending priorities and because of state governments’ poor track record of spending the health budgets they’ve been allotted in the