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Consider the following statements : Statement-I : India's public sector health care system largely focuses on curative care with limited preventive, promotive and rehabilitative care. Statement-II : Under India's decentralized approach to health care delivery, the States are primarily responsible for organizing health services. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Explanation
The correct answer is Option 2.
Statement-I is correct: Historically, India's public health system has been skewed toward curative care provided through hospitals. Despite the National Health Policy's emphasis on primary care, there remains a significant gap in delivering comprehensive preventive (vaccination, screening), promotive (nutrition, hygiene), and rehabilitative services at the grassroots level.
Statement-II is correct: Under the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution, "Public health and sanitation; hospitals and dispensaries" fall under the State List. Thus, India follows a decentralized model where State governments are primarily responsible for the planning, financing, and delivery of health services.
Relationship: While both statements are factually accurate, Statement-II does not explain Statement-I. The curative bias (Statement-I) is a result of historical funding patterns, infrastructure priorities, and policy implementation gaps, rather than a direct consequence of the constitutional division of powers (Statement-II). Decentralization itself does not mandate a focus on curative care; in fact, it is intended to improve local preventive outreach.
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis question bridges static Polity (7th Schedule) with the analytical 'Social Sector' chapter of the Economic Survey. It tests if you understand the structural flaws of India's health architecture (curative bias) rather than just memorizing scheme names. It rewards candidates who read the 'Challenges' section of NITI Aayog reports or NCERT Indian Economic Development.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Is India's public sector health care system primarily focused on curative care rather than preventive, promotive, and rehabilitative care?
- Statement 2: Does India's public sector health care system provide only limited preventive, promotive, and rehabilitative services?
- Statement 3: Under India's decentralized health care delivery system, are the States primarily responsible for organizing and delivering health services?
Explicit reference to India as a destination for curative medical tourism (cardiology, orthopaedics, transplants) highlights prominence of high-end curative services.
A student could contrast the visibility and investment in tertiary/curative hospitals (often private) with evidence on public primary/preventive service footprints to judge sectoral emphasis.
Notes policy shift (2015 NHP) emphasizing private healthcare and insurance (Ayushman Bharat) while merging some national programmes — suggesting a move toward financing curative services rather than expanded public preventive infrastructure.
Combine this with data on public health spending composition (e.g., insurance payouts vs. PHC budgets) to infer whether public sector focus shifted to curative care.
National Population Policy goals include prevention and control of preventable diseases and integration of Indian systems in reproductive and child health — showing stated policy emphasis on preventive/promotive actions.
Compare these stated preventive aims with implementation indicators (coverage of immunisation, family planning, community health workers) to assess if public sector action matches rhetoric.
Kerala's low infant mortality is linked to 'adequate provision of basic health and educational facilities', implying public provision of basic/preventive services yields better outcomes.
A student could map state-level public primary care provisioning to health outcomes to see if stronger public preventive services correspond to better indicators, suggesting where public focus lies.
Points out a rising burden of chronic diseases and that air quality policies are disconnected from health sector realities, indicating gaps in preventive environmental-health integration.
Use this to probe whether public health policy/practice prioritises upstream prevention (environmental, behavioural) or mainly treats downstream clinical disease.
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