15 July : Admitting constraints of funds, manpower and inadequate reach in providing quality health care, the Centre has said expenditure in the sector was “very low”.“The expenditure in the government sector as compared to the private sector is very low in India,” Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Responding to supplementaries during Question Hour, he said the health sector required massive investment even to achieve the basic essentials, including provision of beds.
Azad said the National Commission on Macroeconomics on Health had in 2005 projected an additional need for Rs 74,000 crore.
Of this, Rs 33,000 crore would be required for capital investment on infrastructure and Rs 41,000 crore for recurring costs on salaries, drugs, training and research, he said.
The NCHM pointed out that health spending was in the range of 4.5 percent to six percent of the GDP.
As these estimates were based on weak methodological background, a fresh exercise was taken up based on National Health Account (NHA) framework, which projected about Rs. 1,05,734 crore expenditure, accounting for 4.63 percent of GDP at market prices, Azad said.
Of the total expenditure, NHA estimated that government contributed 20.3 percent, the private sector 77.4 percent and external support 2.3 percent.