It would be wise for the Finance Minister to raise the budgetary allotment for public health.
It is regrettable that despite the nation's seven decades of independence, disease-related deaths are still common and the newborn mortality rate is a reason for concern. Numerous people struggle with fatal illnesses like TB, cancer, and heart conditions yet are unable to receive treatment because of the exorbitant expense of care. People have disabilities that have a significant influence on their lives, such as blindness. the cause of their lack of affordable healthcare access. The government's health infrastructure is well below what is ideal. Private hospitals and doctors, who are far too expensive and do not have a presence in rural villages and tribal areas, fill the holes in public health. Because it is a state concern, public health is essentially the province of the state. There is a compelling argument for moving it to the Constitution's concurrent list, which would enable the centre to tackle health challenges head-on. Public health suffers as many states struggle to meet their financial obligations. Public health is an investment that will pay off for both the nation's health and productivity because they are directly related. India has a lower birth life expectancy than many other nations, including Brazil, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. The cause is simple to understand. In terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), India's government spent $69 on healthcare per person in 2019 compared to $154 in the Philippines, $175 in Indonesia, $492 in China, $524 in Thailand, and $610 in Brazil. Long-term productivity growth will have a favourable effect on India's GDP as a result of increased health investments. The National Health Policy of 2017 highlighted it and recommended raising public health spending. In the current budget, the finance minister has the opportunity to enhance the financial allocation for healthcare. It would be a wonderful service to the public if the Union Budget 2023–24 could close this gap by increasing the budget outlay. Budgetary allocations for the fiscal years 2020–21 were only 1.8 percent, much below the 2.5 percent of GDP objective set by NK Singh, chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, for health spending by 2025. He had also given advice to the Developmental Finance Institution (DFI) that invests in healthcare to better direct the funds towards health. However, a reasonable health budget allocation can be an excellent place to start.
