Health Of The Nation

The year is 2047 and India is basking in its centenary year of freedom from British Rule. The most populous  country  is ecstatic. There is joy  and  pride among its  1.5 billion-plus  citizens. And why not? The country has come a long way from its years of infancy. Like an infant dependent on others for care and nutrition, the initial years of the nation were import-dependent,  and  it achieved self-sufficiency in food and nutrition in its adulthood (the  decades of  20s and 30s  since independence ) through green and white revolutions. It took a bold decision to open itself and become a market-driven economy in its 40s and made its presence felt globally through  its 50s and 60s and was the cynosure of all eyes. Age was merely a number as the nation began to make rapid strides and continued to rise the fastest it ever had. And finally came the moment when the nation made its entry into the big boys' club (breaking into t...

With each passing day, managing risk is becoming increasingly critical. One of the most important and widely used tools of managing risk is insurance. Hence, today we see availability of insurance for almost everything from life, health, home, automobile, climate mitigation, electronic gadgets, data, travel, among host of other everyday things. While the most widely used insurance products are based on the principles of risk transfer to a third party or an underwriter for a premium, the oldest form of insurance is based on redistribution or risk sharing. It is known as Mutual or Cooperative insurance where a group of people come together to support one another through a mutual contribution. In case of insurance through a joint stock company, the insurer charges a premium to provide a risk coverage to the insured for a pre-defined event. In case of the occurrence of that event, the insurer pays the sum assured. If the said event doesn’t occur, the insurer gets to retain the premium. I...

  With the insurance protection gap among the highest in Asia, Indians are vulnerable to health and economic shocks. The insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) estimates the protection gap to be around USD 400 billion. While India is a lower-middle-income country (LMIC), it's spending on healthcare is lesser than in lower-income countries. As of 2019, the penetration of non-life insurance is a mere 0.94 percent of the GDP and the density is USD19, which is far lower than its Asian peers. Covid-19 has brought attention and urgency to healthcare and health insurance, both among the public and the policymakers alike. India will need to rapidly increase the scale and penetration of insurance to achieve sizeable insurance coverage commensurate to its growing economy. While the technology has enabled newer models of distribution and increased the reach but similar progress is lacking in capital infusion in insurance firms, newer product development, and actuarial...

Amidst all the gloom and doom news of Covid-19 wave raging across the country and people gasping for oxygen, here is a breadth of fresh air. Rajasthan, the desert state in the western part of the country launched a Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme for all residents of the state. Announced in the budget speech for FY22 presented by chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who also holds the Finance portfolio, the state will offer cashless medical insurance of up to Rs.5,00,000/- to all families in the state. According to estimates, the population of Rajasthan is little over eight crores. The state has allocated Rs.3,500/- crores for the Mukhyamantri Chirajeevi Yojana, the official name of the scheme. The scheme comes into effect from 1 st May 2021 and the following categories are eligible by default: Socio Economic Class Census (SECC) 2011 Registered families, National Food Security Act (NFSA) Card Holders, Small/Marginal Farmers, Contractual Workers. The scheme is completely free of cost to...

As of 2019, the population of India was approximately 1.37 billion, bringing it closer to the most populous nation, China which had a population of 1.43 billion ( ourworldindata.org ). By 2027, India is expected to overtake China to become the most populous country on this planet with an estimated population of 1.47 billion. While China’s population is expected to start declining later this decade, it is estimated that the population of India will continue to grow and reach a peak of 1.7 billion in the late 2050s before starting to decline. Between now and 2060, India is expected to add over 400 million people. Looking at the staggering population numbers, every now and then there are discussions papers, demand from political parties among other to introduce measures to curb the population growth. There are good arguments both in favour and against policy decisions like One Child Policy. Basis the recently released report by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) — Health ...

On 26th November, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) tweeted that he held a meeting with the officials of the National Health Authority (NHA), the implementing body of Ayushman Bharat or Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) to review the progress of the scheme. PMJAY provides free health insurance coverage to over 50 crores or bottom 40 per cent of the country's population. The scheme guarantees health services for approximately 1300 medical conditions with the financial support of up to INR 5,00,000/- per family per year. In his tweet, the minister also highlighted that, since its launch in September 2018, the scheme has provided over 1.4 crore cashless treatments worth INR 17,500/- crore to the poorest citizens. A visit to the official website of PMJAY ( https://pmjay.gov.in ) on 3rd December shows that till date, total admissions under the scheme have been 1,43,66,465. It also shows that claims raised were INR7,564 crore (almost INR10,00...