Affordable health care: Greater policy focus required to strengthen infra

Although public spending on health has increased in recent years, it continues to remain low compared to other countries

India is making proactive efforts to improve its health care infrastructure and invest in capacity building. Last week, the Union Cabinet cleared the expansion of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) to provide health coverage to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their income. Currently income-based, the scheme is the world’s largest publicly funded health scheme, which provides health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to the bottom 40 per cent of the population. In this regard, the expansion in