Achievements@75: Key healthcare achievement of India since gaining independence

Since gaining independence, India has launched several national programmes to curb the menace of communicable diseases like Malaria, Tuberculosis, and AIDS, among others.Maternal & child health, which was in a very poor condition at the cusp of independence has received tremendous support. The overall healthcare access and affordability has improved through structural changes over decades culminating in the much publicized Ayushman Bharat & National Digital Health Mission of recent times.Government has launched various schemes over decades like the National Health Mission (NHM) & National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to focus on providing direct access to improve maternal and child health. 

Within these missions we have Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) that enables direct cash transfers to pregnant mothers, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) that enables pregnant mothers to deliver in government hospitals for free, Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matrutva Abhiyan (PMSMA) that is focused on providing good antenatal care and specifically identifying and managing high risk pregnant mothers.India in 2022 and India in 1947 are stark reminders of how a country evolves and survives the test of time. In the last 75 years, India has improved tremendously with respect to life expectancy. In 1947, the expectancy of an average Indian citizen was around 32 years and it has increased to 70.19 years in 2022. The increase in life expectancy in the last 75 years has been over 100 percent. United Nations-World Population Perspective states that the average global life expectancy is 72.98 years. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India has significantly improved its people’s health outcomes.