UPSC Mains 2021 GS Paper 2 Q6: model answer

When Covid struck, Kerala's network of primary health centres and ward committees traced contacts within days, while States with weak primary care struggled. The pandemic proved what textbooks said: the primary health centre is the front line of the State.

A moral imperative

• Article 47 directs the State to improve public health; the Supreme Court read the right to health into Article 21 (Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity, 1996).
• Poor families suffer most from illness costs, so neglect of primary care is a question of justice.

A precondition for sustainable development

• Healthy workers are productive; stunting lowers adult earnings.
• SDG 3 cannot be met without primary care.
• Preventing disease is cheaper than treating it.
• Pandemic preparedness protects the economy.

India's status

• Ayushman Arogya Mandirs number over 1.7 lakh.
• But shortages of doctors and specialists at rural centres persist (Rural Health Statistics).
• Out-of-pocket spending is still about 40% of health expenditure.

Way forward

Spend most new money on primary care, staff it fully, and give panchayats a role.

A welfare State that neglects primary health fails both its citizens and its economy.