LAUSR

The New India's Budget 2018e19 is projected as ‘budget for growth and prosperity’. Claimed to be the world's largest government funded health care program with ambitious initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat (AB) and National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), the government is aiming to transform the public health care system. The AB initiative aims at comprehensive health care, establishment of 150,000 wellness centers, management of non-communicable diseases, mother and child health services along with free essential drugs and diagnostic services. The NHPS aims at insurance cover for 100 million households for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. While the AB initiative focuses on health assurance, the NHPS will provide health insurance. The success of these ambitious initiatives will depend on careful design, execution and maximum governance as well as mainstreaming the potential of AYUSH as envisaged by the National Health Policy 2017. J-AIMwelcomes these initiatives and appreciates the reasonable increase in the budget allotment for the Ministry of AYUSH. These initiatives need to be viewed in the light of few contemporary developments. A recent global monitoring report by theWorld Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank reveals that half of world's population does not have access to essential health services. The United Nations through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has given a universal call for action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The rapidly growing burden of lifestyle and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is indicating increasingly more limitations of current therapeutic approaches mainly based on pharmaceutical medicine. The conceptof ‘UniversalHealthCoverage’ (UHC) embracedbyWHO declares health as a fundamental human right and commits to ensuring the highest attainable level of health for all.