Health Budget in India

The primary job of any doctor is to alleviate the pain and sufferings of a person without commercialising it. This is also the fundamental duty of the government under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

The government should differentiate non-emergent from emergent care. In non-emergent care, even in UK the waiting list can be in years, but emergent care must be given without delay. 

All government hospitals in India should provide emergent care to all those who need it and if no bed is available, they should be shifted to empanelled private sector with billing to the government under the respective Ayushman Bharat scheme. Appropriate budget should be allocated for this purpose.

Regarding preventive health care, government should adopt the concept of one health. All budgets such as: Budgets for Swachh Bharat Mission; budget for nutrition part of Women and Child Development Ministry; Pharma budget part of Ministry of Chemical Fertilisers; Plant and agriculture health part of agriculture ministry; Road traffic accident part of surface transport ministry; Defence health part of defence budget; air water earth pollution health budget of environment ministry, Budget of ministry of science and technology (towards heath as a science); budget for animal health part of Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Ayush Ministry; School health budget of education ministry (HRD) etc. should be added and run like one budget with no duplication or overlap.

Dr KK Aggarwal

Padma Shri Awardee

President Elect Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania   (CMAAO)

Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications

President Heart Care Foundation of India

Past National President IMA