Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana: A Paper Tiger

The current budgetary allocation of ₹20 billion under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) is grossly inadequate. Our paper estimates that in the current fiscal year, the scheme will require an allocation of at least ₹420.73 billion to be able to give any meaningful coverage to 0.1 billion targetted families. This paper argues that such an expensive tertiary sector- led medical care coverage model is not the correct approach to ensure Universal Health Care (UHC) in India. A majority of illnesses are treatable at the primary level and an unbalanced promotion of the tertiary sector while neglecting primary healthcare will cause a delay in treatments, resulting in more complex and expensive medical interventions. What India urgently needs is to develop a comprehensive primary healthcare system.