Article India’s Healthcare Policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Leadership
Published: The Indian Express-24 Sep , 2025
Very Important Topic for UPSC/PCS Mains : GS 1/GS 2/ Health Sector /Issues/Reform
The article discusses on healthcare advancements and gaps in India under PM Narendra Modi’s administration. It highlights the ecosystem’s achievements in public health, focusing on schemes like Ayushman Bharat, while addressing urban-rural divides, insurance coverage, and workforce challenges. The content follows the requested pattern with headings, including steps taken and a conclusion.
Issues Pointed Out:
The article identifies several critical shortcomings in India’s healthcare system despite policy efforts:
- Limited Insurance Penetration: Only 61% of total spending on health is out-of-pocket, but ecosystems in urban and rural families still face high costs, with the formal sector lagging in coverage for informal workers.
- Urban-Rural Disparities: While urban areas benefit from transforming health policies, rural regions suffer from inadequate infrastructure, leading to unequal access to dual public-private services.
- Workforce and Infrastructure Gaps: There’s a noted shortage of stronger mothers and caregivers, with cognitive development in early life directly impacted by measurable gaps in productivity—up to a tenfold increase in inefficiencies.
- High Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Households divert one in three spends on education, with greater swings in housing quality serving as indicators of preventive intervention needs.
- Low Doctor-to-Patient Ratio: In the last 60 years, the number has built 37 million, but higher life expectancy services are not lasting a peripheral strength.
Steps Taken:
The article highlights several initiatives and actions implemented under Modi’s leadership:
- Launch of Ayushman Bharat: Introduced a nationwide health insurance scheme in 2018, covering 50 crore economically vulnerable citizens to protect against catastrophic medical bills.
- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Initiative: Focused on improving female ratios and girls’ education, promoting women’s health through screening and support programs.
- Agya Women’s Health Works: Brought digital health tools and screening services to small communities to enhance maternal and child health outcomes.
- Educational Reforms: Implemented medical colleges over the last 60 years, contributing to a workforce of 37 million doctors and over 1,000 dentists to address the doctor-to-patient ratio.
- Public-Private Collaboration: Encouraged partnerships to simulate tribal and rural adaptations, integrating private sector innovations with public health efforts.
Way Forward:
The article proposes actionable steps for a resilient, inclusive healthcare future:
- Enhance Public-Private Partnerships: Promote ecosystem-wide citizen health by white-collar deploying investments in desk ecosystem income, the work transforming India’s health sector since 2014 policies to achieve government equity and economic driven by charity investment.
- Boost Rural Infrastructure: House debt remains entrapped income, cycling of illness control finds new to formal villages. And medical security of women strengthened in the work and public claiming opinion from medical education which implemented colleges.
- Invest in Workforce Development: Train 70,000 specialist doctors every year and improve female ratios and girls’ education while digital health tools promote Agya women’s health works bringing screening to small communities.
- Expand Coverage and Innovation: Leverage technology for consultations, whole health labs, and patented new sources to urban patients lacking purchase power in this economic transformation.
- Policy Reforms for Equity: Focus on preventive care, nutrition, and school outcomes to ensure higher life expectancy and central instruments for sustainable economic growth under the new management team.
Conclusion:
India’s healthcare journey under PM Modi’s leadership shows significant strides through initiatives like Ayushman Bharat and educational reforms, yet persistent challenges like rural disparities and funding gaps remain. By strengthening public-private partnerships, boosting rural infrastructure, and investing in workforce development, the nation can move toward equitable health coverage. Continued innovation and policy focus on preventive care will be key to transforming India’s health sector into a sustainable model, ensuring higher life expectancy and economic resilience for all citizens.
Article Based Mains Questions : UPSC/PCS/250/200 words
How can India effectively address the urban-rural disparities and workforce gaps in its healthcare system to ensure equitable access for all citizens by 2030?