It is heartening that healthcare issues are receiving political attention—but current policy measures are lacking
India’s top politicians rarely make influential public statements on the state of the country’s healthcare. In commenting about it recently in a Surat speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought in a refreshing change to this status quo. He mentioned the National Health Policy (NHP) 2017, exhorted the wealthy to contribute and lamented that demand for healthcare far outstrips supply. Hinting also at the mandatory prescription of generic medicines by regulation, Modi expectedly championed affordable healthcare. In a land where healthcare matters hardly ever take centre stage in electoral discourse, this is heartening. But does this ensure the correct direction for healthcare policymaking in India? One cannot be sure.

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