The Union Budget's Silo-Based Approach To Health

The Union Budget uses a silo-based approach to health in complete disregard for what its own reports and data point out in terms of what is required for the nation’s health.

- T.K. Rajalakshmi

Piecemeal interventions, an emphasis on private participation, and a slew of cosmetic announcements characterise the health budget of 2016-17. The attempt was ostensibly to project the government’s propoor face; if so, that exercise has proven to be a resounding failure given the low budgetary allocation and the emphasis on the private sector yet again for the delivery of critical health services. Notwithstanding the grandiose announcements of a health insurance cover of Rs.1 lakh a family in the below poverty line (BPL) category, an additional top-up cover for senior citizens, and the proposal to open 3,000 generic drug centres under the Prime Minister’s Jan Aushadhi Yojana, the overall estimated budget allocation shows only a minuscule increase over the Revised Estimates for 2015-16. It still falls far short of reaching the Twelfth Plan target of 2.5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The total allocation, according to the think tank Centre for Budgetary Governance and Accountability, remains at 0.25 per cent of the GDP at the present allocation levels.