Centre rubbishes report saying India spends low on healthcare

- After a Lancet report that asserted that the Indian government spends just 1.2 per cent of GDP on healthcare and noted that it was among the lowest among G20 countries, sources in the government said that spending is at an all-time high and out-of-pocket expenditure as a per cent of the total health expenditure has decreased.

“As per the National Health Policy, 2017, public investment in health is envisioned to reach 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2025. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) has taken up with States to prioritise allocation to the health sector and enhance their health budgets by at least 10 per cent every year to reach the goal as envisaged,” one of the sources said.

The budget estimates of the Department of Health and Family Welfare have reached from

Rs 86,175 crore in 2023-24 from Rs 36,948 crore in 2014-15, thereby showing an overall increase of 133.23 per cent during the period, they said.

According to the report by medical journal Lancet, the government spending on health has fallen and now hovers around an ‘abysmal’ 1.2 per cent of gross domestic product, out-of-pocket expenditure on health care remains extremely high, and flagship initiatives on primary health care and universal health coverage have so far ‘failed’ to deliver services to people most in need.

In response, the sources in the government said the Health Ministry is making continuous efforts to increase allocation in health budget. Further, the 15th Finance Commission has provided Rs 70,051 crore as grants for health through the local governments, the sources added.