BOOK SUMMARY

Nitin Singhania: Indian Economy

CHAPTER 20 - HEALTH AND EDUCATION

FOR CIVIL SERVICES EXAM PREPARATION

 Nitin Singhania: Indian Economy

CHAPTER 20 - HEALTH AND EDUCATION

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS IN HEALTHCARE

● India's healthcare system is complex and multi-faceted, with both government-run and private facilities providing
medical services to the country's population of over 1.3 billion people.
● The government has launched a number of initiatives to improve access to healthcare for the country's rural and
urban populations alike.
● The Indian healthcare sector is expected to record a three-fold rise, growing at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth
Rate) of 22% between 2016–22 to reach USD 372 billion in 2022 from USD 110 billion in 2016.
● In the Economic Survey of 2022, India’s public expenditure on healthcare stood at 2.1% of GDP in 2021-22 against
1.8% in 2020-21 and 1.3% in 2019-20.
● In FY21, gross direct premium income underwritten by health insurance companies grew 13.3% YoY to Rs.
58,572.46 crore (USD 7.9 billion).
● The Indian medical tourism market was valued at USD 2.89 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 13.42
billion by 2026.
● Telemedicine is also expected to reach USD 5.5 billion by 2025.

NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY

● NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY - 1983

○ The policy aimed to provide access to primary healthcare services for all individuals in India.
● NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY - 2002
○ The policy aims to ensure that the country's general population attains a satisfactory level of good health.
● NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY - 2017
○ According to this policy, there is a need to develop a new healthcare policy due to two main factors.
■ One, There is an increase in the number of non-communicable diseases, illnesses not caused by
germs.
■ Secondly, the healthcare industry is growing fast and is estimated to continue to expand quickly.
Also, the catastrophic cost of health care in India was a burden to the poor. The economy is
growing, so more money is available to improve financial resources.
○ The 2017 policy aims to achieve the highest possible level of health and well-being for individuals,
regardless of age.
○ The policy aims to ensure everyone can get good healthcare without worrying about money.
○ To reach these goals, the policy wants to make healthcare easier, ensure better quality, and make it cheaper.

NUTRITION

● The National Nutrition Strategy was released by the NITI Aayog in 2017.
● The strategy talked about the negative impact of malnutrition on the productivity of the population, and its
contribution to the mortality rates.
● It laid out objectives for the country to achieve in reducing malnutrition rates.
● The Strategy envisions contributing to major national development goals for more inclusive growth, like the
reduction of infant, maternal, and infant mortality through the achievement of the following targets:
○ Decrease in the rate of underweight children below 5 years to 20.7% by 2022. (Current rate is 35.7%)
○ Decrease in the prevalence of anemia in kids (6 – 59 months) to 19.5% by 2022. (Current rate is 58.4%)
○ Decrease in the prevalence of anemia in women and girls (15 – 49 years) to 17.7% by 2022. (Current rate
is 53.1%)
● As a long-term goal, the purpose of the National Nutrition Strategy is to progressively reduce all forms of
undernutrition by 2030.

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UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE (UHC)

● UHC means that all people have access to the health services they need (prevention, promotion, treatment,
rehabilitation, and palliative care) without the risk of financial hardship when paying for them.
● Health accessibility and affordability remain a crucial healthcare problem even in the 21st century.
● Therefore, the World Health Organization chose “Universal Health Coverage” as the theme for World Health Day
2019.
● India started working towards the universal problem of affordability and accessibility with the introduction of
Ayushman Bharat.
● UHC is widely discussed worldwide as an essential component of the development agenda.
○ The outbreak of COVID-19 has necessitated the need for universal health coverage as the health systems
failed miserably across the globe during those times.

KEY CHALLENGES TO HEALTH COVERAGE IN INDIA

● Inadequate Infrastructure:
○ In many low- and middle-income countries, the lack of proper infrastructure is a significant challenge to
achieving UHC. This includes inadequate health facilities, inadequate equipment, and inadequate medical
supplies. There is a shortfall of 79.5% of specialists at the Community Health Centers (CHCs) as compared
to the requirement.
● Availability of Services:
○ Although 56% of empanelled hospitals under the PMJAY are in the public sector, 40% are in the private
for-profit sector, indicating that the availability of services may be concentrated in areas with previous
experience implementing publicly funded health insurance schemes.
● Inequitable Access to Health Insurance:
○ The lowest coverage of health insurance is among households with the lowest wealth quintile and
underprivileged sections, indicating a lack of equitable access to health insurance. The NFHS-5 results paint
a different picture for India, where insurance coverage is lowest (36.1%) among households with the
lowest wealth quintile.
● Lack of Financial Protection:
○ Despite the existence of schemes like Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, the average out-of-pocket
expenditure per delivery in public health facilities is still high, particularly in urban areas.
○ There are significant disparities in out-of-pocket expenditure and access to healthcare services among
different states in India. Many northeastern states and larger states have seen a rise in out-of-pocket
expenditure between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5.
● Inclusion and Exclusion Errors in Health Insurance Policies:
○ Recent studies have shown that like earlier health insurance policies, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
(PMJAY) is also not free from inclusion and exclusion errors, which could lead to the inclusion of ineligible
households and exclusion of eligible households.
● Poor Health Education:
○ Lack of education and awareness regarding healthy lifestyles and preventive health measures can lead to
an increase in preventable illnesses and conditions.

RURAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN INDIA - A SCENARIO

● According to the document, India’s rural healthcare system continues to be plagued by a shortfall on two critical
fronts: Doctors and infrastructure.
○ Doctors:
■ There is a shortage of
● 83.2 % of surgeons,
● 74.2 % of obstetricians and gynecologists,
● 79.1 % of physicians and
● 81.6 % of pediatricians.
○ Infrastructure:
■ Less than half the Primary Health Centres (PHC), 45.1 %, function on a 24×7 basis.
■ Of the 5,480 functioning Community Health Centres (CHC), only 541 have all four specialists.
○ Situation of SCs (Sub-centers), PHC & CHC:
■ According to the document, these facilities are overburdened across the board.

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■ SCs are currently looking after more than 5,000 people,

■ PHCs catering to 36,049 people, and
■ CHCs to 164,027 people.
● Understaffing of SCs, PHCs, and CHCs:
○ SCs, PHCs, and CHCs had more staff in 2021, at the height of the deadly second wave of COVID-19, as
compared to now.
■ The number of auxiliary nurse midwives at SCs has decreased to 207,587 in 2021 from 214,820 in
2022.
■ Lab technicians, nursing staff, and radiographers at PHCs and CHCs have all recorded a marginal
increase between 2021 and 2022.

HEALTH INSURANCE IN INDIA

● Health insurance is a mechanism of pooling the high level of out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) in India to provide
greater financial protection against health shocks.
● Pre-payment through health insurance emerges as an important tool for risk-pooling and safeguarding against
catastrophic (and often impoverishing) expenditure from health shocks.

Need And Current Situation In The Country

● Achieving Universal Health Coverage: Expansion of health insurance coverage is a vital step and a pathway in India’s
effort to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
○ Low Government expenditure on health has constrained the capacity and quality of healthcare services in
the public sector.
○ It diverts the majority of individuals – about two-thirds – to seek treatment in the costlier private sector.
● High Out-of-Pocket Expenditure: India’s health sector is characterized by low Government expenditure on health,
high out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE), and low financial protection for adverse health events.
○ The private sector is characterized by high OOPE, leading to low financial protection
● The Missing Middle: According to the report, at least 30% of the population, or 40 crore individuals (referred to as
the missing middle in this report) are devoid of any financial protection for health.
○ The Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and various State Government
extension schemes, provide comprehensive hospitalization cover to the bottom 50% of the population.
○ Around the top 20% of the population – 25 crore individuals – are covered through social health insurance
and private voluntary health insurance.
○ They are not available to the general population due to the risk of adverse selection.

AYUSHMAN BHARAT

● Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) is a flagship health protection scheme launched
by the Government of India in 2018.
● It aims to provide universal health coverage to the poor and vulnerable sections of society by ensuring access to
quality healthcare services agnostic of economic status.
● It has the potential to transform the healthcare landscape of the country by reducing poverty, enhancing
productivity, and promoting social justice.

OBJECTIVES

● To reduce the financial burden of out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on healthcare for the beneficiaries.
● To improve the access and affordability of healthcare services for the beneficiaries.
● To enhance the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery systems in the country.
● To promote preventive, promotive, and curative health interventions for the beneficiaries.

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FEATURES

● The scheme provides a health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization
to more than 12 crore families (bottom 40% of the population).
● The scheme covers medical and surgical procedures for almost all health conditions through a comprehensive list
of 1,949 packages, including cancer care, cardiac care, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, burns management, mental
disorders, etc.
● The scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme, which means that it is funded by both the central and state
governments.
● The scheme uses a robust IT platform to ensure seamless delivery of services and prevent fraud and abuse.
● The platform includes features such as beneficiary identification system, hospital empanelment module, transaction
management system, claim management system, grievance redressal mechanism, etc.
● The scheme has a network of more than 27,000 empanelled hospitals across the country, out of which more than
half are private hospitals.
● The scheme has an interstate portability feature, which means that a beneficiary registered in one state can avail
services in any other state that has an AB-PMJAY programme.
● The scheme has a dedicated workforce of Pradhan Mantri Arogya Mitras (PMAMs) who guide and assist the
beneficiaries at every step of their journey under the scheme.

AYUSHMAN BHARAT DIGITAL MISSION

● It aims to provide digital health IDs for all Indian citizens to help hospitals, insurance firms, and citizens access
health records electronically when required.
● The pilot project of the Mission had been announced by the Prime Minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort on
15th August 2020.
○ The project is being implemented in the pilot phase in six States & Union Territories.
● It will be issued for every citizen that will also work as their health account. This health account will contain details
of every test, every disease, the doctors visited, the medicines taken and the diagnosis.
● Health ID is free of cost and voluntary. It will help in doing analysis of health data and lead to better planning,
budgeting and implementation for health programs.
● The other major component of the programme is creating a Healthcare Professionals’ Registry (HPR) and
Healthcare Facilities Registry (HFR), allowing easy electronic access to medical professionals and health
infrastructure.
● The HPR will be a comprehensive repository of all healthcare professionals involved in delivering healthcare
services across both modern and traditional systems of medicine.
● The HFR database will have records of all the country’s health facilities.
● The Sandbox, created as a part of the mission, will act as a framework for technology and product testing that will
help organisations, including private players intending to be a part of the national digital health ecosystem become
a Health Information Provider or Health Information User or efficiently link with building blocks of Ayushman
Bharat Digital Mission.
● National Health Authority (NHA) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

ESANJEEVANI

● It is a cloud-based integrated telemedicine solution of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India.
● It is a telemedicine app that provides both doctor-to-doctor and doctor-to-patient telecommunication.
● It is being designed, developed, deployed, and maintained by The Centre for Development and Advanced Computing
(C-DAC), Mohali.
● It is a system being implemented under the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWCs) programme.
○ AB-HWCs are envisaged to be the platform for delivery of an expanded range of primary health care
services closer to the communities.
● It seeks to connect all 1,50,000 HWCs using the hub-and-spoke model by December 2022
○ Under the model, a network will be established comprising an anchor establishment, or hub, which offers
a full array of services, and will be complemented by secondary establishments, or spokes, which offer
limited services, routing patients needing more intensive services to the hub for treatment.
● Presently, telemedicine is being provided through more than 3,000 HWCs in 10 States.
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STEPS TAKEN TO PROMOTE THE INDIAN SYSTEM OF MEDICINES

● New Ministry Formed

○ In 2014, the Union government established the Ministry of AYUSH, a separate ministry dedicated to
traditional medicine and treatment.
● National AYUSH Mission
○ The Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had launched the National AYUSH
Mission (NAM) during the 12th Plan.
○ The basic objective of NAM is to promote
■ AYUSH medical systems through cost-effective AYUSH services, strengthening of educational
systems,
■ facilitate the enforcement of quality control of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani & Homoeopathy (ASU
&H) drugs and
■ sustainable availability of ASU & H raw-materials.
● Further steps
○ The new category 'AYUSH Aahar’ introduced by the FSSAI in its regulations will help the producers of
herbal nutritional supplements.
○ The AYUSH Export Promotion Council has been set up recently to encourage exports and help find foreign
markets.
○ The government is going to create a network of AYUSH Parks to encourage research and provide a new
direction to AYUSH manufacturing.
○ An incubation centre developed by the All-India Institute of Ayurveda was inaugurated by the Ministry of
AYUSH.
■ This will encourage start-up culture in the field of traditional medicine.
● WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM)
○ The WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (WHO GCTM) has been established in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
○ The centre was established to support WHO’s efforts to implement the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy
2014-2023.
○ It is the first WHO GCTM in the world.

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN INDIA'S HEALTHCARE SECTOR REPORT

● Healthcare has become one of the largest sectors of the Indian economy, in terms of both revenue and employment.
● India’s healthcare sector has the potential to generate 27 lakh jobs in India between 2017 and 2022.
● India’s healthcare industry has been growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of around 22% since 2016.
○ At this rate, it is expected to reach USD 372 billion in 2022.
● The current market size for pharmaceuticals in India is $41 billion, which is expected to reach $130 billion by 2030.
● India’s biotechnology market is expected to grow at an average growth rate of around 30% per year to reach $100
billion by 2025.
○ With respect to pharmaceuticals, India can boost domestic manufacturing, supported by recent
Government schemes with performance-linked incentives, as part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiative.
● India’s relative cost competitiveness and availability of skilled labour are also making it an increasingly favoured
destination for medical value travel.
● Manufacturing of medical devices and equipment, expansion of diagnostic and pathology centres and miniaturized
diagnostics have high growth potential.
● Technology advancements such as AI, wearables and other mobile tech, along with the Internet of Things, also offer
numerous avenues for investment.
● In the hospital segment, the expansion of private players to Tier-II and Tier-III cities offers an attractive investment
opportunity.

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INDIA’S HEALTH RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

● The public health response to such outbreaks comprises three phases:

● The containment phase, delay phase, and mitigation phase.
○ The containment phase: The aim is to detect and isolate cases and trace people who have been in contact
with those infected. In this regard, there is an urgent need to clamp down on all major cities and towns, in
all aspects, from travel to mass gatherings to schools, colleges, and workplaces.
○ The delay phase: Delay is largely engineered through social distancing strategies and personal protection
measures. These are the main tools to prevent accelerated transmission when no vaccine is available. This
includes school closures, encouraging more home working, and avoiding contacts like handshakes.
○ The mitigation phase: The focus will be on providing optimal care for people who need hospitalization
and ensuring support for those who become infected but do not require hospital treatment. It also involves
plans to minimize the impact of the disease on society, public services, and the economy.

● Strengthen the Efforts: The Central Government has urged the state governments to strengthen their efforts to
check the spread of the virus on a "war footing".
○ It is also asserted that the country had much more resources to deal with the virus than before and the
focus should be on micro-containment zones.
● Arrival of New Vaccine: There will be a third vaccine Sputnik V (developed by Russia), which will be available to
India in the next few weeks.
● Less-Strict Restrictions by the Government: The more calibrated measures of curbing the cases have been taken by
the states such as weekend curfews, night curfews, and restrictions on various activities.
○ The states haven’t yet gone for complete lockdowns, considering the impacts on the economy as witnessed
the previous year.
● The Five-Fold Strategy: There is an emphasis on the five-fold strategy of Testing Tracing, Treatment, Covid-
appropriate behavior, and Vaccination.
○ Testing: Significantly increase testing in all districts with a minimum of 70% RT-PCR tests and use of rapid
antigen tests as screening tests in densely populated areas as well as areas where fresh clusters are
emerging.
○ Tracing: In a bid to break the chain of transmission, it is emphasized to ramp up effective and timely tracing,
containment, and surveillance activities.
○ Treatment: Effectively follow the protocol of clinical care, treatment, and supported home/facility care.
○ Covid-Appropriate Behaviour: Strict enforcement of Covid-appropriate behavior of wearing masks
properly, hand sanitizing and social distancing.
○ Vaccination: “Time-bound plan of 100% vaccination of eligible population groups, especially in the high
focus districts.
● ATM Policy of Maharashtra: This was a unique response as the situation in Maharashtra was grim due to the
tsunami-like rise in cases.
○ The situation in cities in Mumbai, and Pune has shown for the last few days, a situation of plateauing but
other places like Nasik and Nagpur are badly affected.
○ The state has adopted an ATM policy:
■ A= Access the cases.
■ T=Triage or transfer the patients based on the risk profile, symptoms, and the vulnerabilities of
the individual.
■ M= Managing them appropriately, either at home, in institutional quarantine, or in the hospitals.
● India’s Vaccine Diplomacy Plan:
○ India started to send its vaccine for COVID-19, which was COVISHIELD and COVAXIN to other countries.
○ Shipments have begun arriving in the Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Myanmar and the
Seychelles are next in line to get consignments.
○ In the cases of Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius, India is awaiting their confirmation of necessary
regulatory clearances.
○ The only exception to India’s regional vaccine diplomacy would be Pakistan, which has cleared the
AstraZeneca vaccine for use, but has neither requested nor discussed any doses from India yet.

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HEALTH OUTCOME INDICATORS - (NATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH SURVEY) NFHS 5

● The NFHS is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout
India.
● The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has designated the International Institute for Population
Sciences(IIPS) Mumbai, as the nodal agency for providing coordination and technical guidance for the survey.
● IIPS collaborates with a number of Field Organizations (FO) for survey implementation.
○ Each successive round of the NFHS has had two specific goals:
■ To provide essential data on health and family welfare needed by the Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare and other agencies for policy and program purposes.
■ To provide information on important emerging health and family welfare issues.
○ The survey provides state and national information for India on:
■ Fertility
■ Infant and child mortality
■ The practice of family planning
■ Maternal and child health
■ Reproductive health
■ Nutrition
■ Anaemia
■ Utilization and quality of health and family planning services.
○ The funding for different rounds of NFHS has been provided by USAID, the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, UNICEF, UNFPA, and MoHFW (Government of India).

KEY FINDINGS

● The NFHS-5 has captured the data during 2019-20 and has been conducted in around 6.1 lakh households.
● NFHS-5 data will be useful in setting benchmarks and examining the progress the health sector has made over time.
● NFHS-5 includes some new topics, such as preschool education, disability, access to a toilet facility, death
registration, bathing practices during menstruation, and methods and reasons for abortion.
● Sex Ratio: NFHS-5 data shows that there were 1,020 women for 1000 men in the country in 2019-2021.
○ This is the highest sex ratio for any NFHS survey as well as since the first modern synchronous census
conducted in 1881.
○ In the 2005-06 NFHS, the sex ratio was 1,000 or women and men were equal in number.
● Sex Ratio at Birth: For the first time in India, between 2019-21, there were 1,020 adult women per 1,000 men.
○ However, the data shall not undermine the fact that India still has a sex ratio at birth (SRB) more skewed
towards boys than the natural SRB (which is 952 girls per 1000 boys).
○ Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Bihar, Delhi, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha,
and Maharashtra are the major states with low SRB.
● Total Fertility Rate (TFR): The TFR has also come down below the threshold at which the population is expected to
replace itself from one generation to next.
○ TFR was 2 in 2019-2021, just below the replacement fertility rate of 2.1.
■ In rural areas, the TFR is still 2.1.
■ In urban areas, TFR had gone below the replacement fertility rate in the 2015-16 NFHS itself.
○ A decline in TFR, which implies that a lower number of children are being born, also entails that India’s
population would become older.
○ The survey shows that the share of the under-15 population in the country has therefore further declined
from 28.6% in 2015-16 to 26.5% in 2019-21.
● Children’s Nutrition: Child Nutrition indicators show a slight improvement at the all-India level as Stunting has
declined from 38% to 36%, wasting from 21% to 19%, and underweight from 36% to 32% at the India level.
○ In all phase-II States/UTs the situation has improved in respect of child nutrition but the change is not
significant as drastic changes in respect of these indicators are unlikely in a short span period.
■ The share of overweight children has increased from 2.1% to 3.4%.
● Anaemia: The incidence of anemia in under-5 children (from 58.6 to 67%), women (53.1 to 57%) and men (22.7 to
25%) has worsened in all States of India (20%-40% incidence is considered moderate).
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○ Barring Kerala (at 39.4%), all States are in the “severe” category.
● Immunization: Full immunization drive among children aged 12-23 months has recorded substantial improvement
from 62% to 76% at all-India levels.
○ 11 out of 14 States/UTs have more than three-fourths of children aged 12-23 months with full
immunization and it is highest (90%) for Odisha.
● Institutional Births: Institutional births have increased substantially from 79% to 89% at all India levels.
○ Institutional delivery is 100% in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu and more than 90% in 7 States/UTs out of 12
Phase II States/UTs.
○ Along with an increase in institutional births, there has also been a substantial increase in C-section
deliveries in many States/UTs, especially in private health facilities.
■ It calls into question the unethical practices of private health providers who prioritize monetary
gain over women’s health and control over their bodies.
● Family Planning: Overall Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) has increased substantially from 54% to 67% at the
all-India levels and in almost all Phase-II States/UT with the exception of Punjab.
○ Use of modern methods of contraceptives has also increased in almost all States/UTs.
○ Unmet needs of family Planning have witnessed a significant decline from 13% to 9% at the all-India level
and in most of the Phase-II States/UTs.
○ The unmet need for spacing which remained a major issue in India in the past has come down to less than
10% in all the States except Jharkhand (12%), Arunachal Pradesh (13%), and Uttar Pradesh(13%).
● Breastfeeding to Children: Exclusive breastfeeding to children under age 6 months has shown an improvement in
all-India levels from 55% in 2015-16 to 64% in 2019-21. All the phase-II States/UTs are also showing considerable
progress.
● Women Empowerment: Women's empowerment indicators portray considerable improvement at all India levels
and across all the phase-II States/UTs.
○ Significant progress has been recorded between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5 in regard to women operating bank
accounts from 53% to 79% at the all-India level.
○ More than 70% of women in every state and UTs in the second phase have operational bank accounts.

EDUCATION

● Literacy rate in India as per Census 2011: 74%.

● Literacy rate: Male: 82.1%; Female: 65.5%
● Kerala tops the rankings, followed by Delhi, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.
● Bihar is the lowest among states, followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, etc., however, they are
improving their position.
● Bihar has a literacy rate of 63.8%, and that of women is 53.3%.
● The gender gap in terms of literacy began to narrow first in 1991 and the pace has accelerated, however still lags
far behind the global female literacy rate of 7% (UNESCO 2015).
● However, during 2001 – 2011, the male literacy rate increased by 6 %age points but female literacy increased by
nearly 12 %age points. Achievement in female literacy in Bihar is noteworthy: from 33% in 2001 to 53% in 2011.

IMPORTANT HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS

● The British government introduced modern education in India.

● From Macaulay’s minutes to Wood’s dispatch to several commissions like the Sadler Commission, 1904 Indian
education policy, etc. built the foundation of the Indian education system during the colonial period.

RADHAKRISHNAN COMMITTEE

● In 1948-49, the University Education Commission was constituted under Radhakrishnan. It molded the education
system based on the needs of an independent India. The pre-Independent Indian education value system was
catering to colonial masters. There was a need to replace Macaulayism with the Indian value system. (Macaulayism
is the policy of eliminating indigenous culture through the planned substitution of the alien culture of a colonizing
power via the education system). Some of the values mentioned in the commission were:
○ Wisdom and Knowledge
○ Aims of the Social Order: the desired social order for which youths are being educated.
○ Love for higher values in life
○ Training for Leadership
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● The Independent Indian education system developed along the lines of this value framework. In the present times,
where there are imminent threats of political ideologies hijacking the pedagogy of education and commercialization
of education eroding value systems, it is appreciable to dust off the values promulgated by the commission.

KOTHARI COMMISSION

● If the Radhakrishnan committee charted out the value system of the Indian education system, it was the Kothari
Commission that provided the basic framework of the same. The commission provided for:
○ Standardization of the educational system on a 10+2+3 pattern.
○ The need to make work experience and social/national service an integral part of education.
○ Linking of colleges to several schools in the neighborhood.
○ Equalization of opportunities to all and to achieve social and national integration.
○ Neighborhood school system without social or religious segregation and a school complex system
integrating primary and secondary levels of education.
○ Establishment of Indian Education Service.
○ On-the-job training of the teaching staff and efforts to raise the status of the teachers to attract talents into
the profession.
○ To raise expenditure on education from 2.9% of the GDP to 6% by 1985.
○ This committee report paved the way for the National Educational Policy 1968 which provided the base
and roadmap for further development of the education system in India.

NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY - 1968

● The policy provided for “radical restructuring” and equalization of educational opportunities to achieve national
integration and greater cultural and economic development.
● Increase public expenditure on education to 6% of GDP.
● Provide for better training and qualification of teachers.
● Three-language formula: state governments should implement the study of a modern Indian language, preferably
one of the southern languages, apart from Hindi and English in the Hindi-speaking states, and of Hindi along with
the regional language and English in the non-Hindi-speaking states.
● Hindi was encouraged uniformly to promote a common language for all Indians.

NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY - 1985

● The policy aimed at the removal of disparities and to equalize educational opportunities, especially for women, SC
and ST.
● Launching of “Operation Blackboard” to improve primary schools nationwide.
● IGNOU, the Open University, was formed.
● Adoption of the “rural university” model, based on the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, to promote economic and
social development at the grassroots level in rural India.

TSR SUBRAMANIUM COMMITTEE REPORT

● Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) – children from four to five years of age – to be declared as a
fundamental right.
○ ECCE is inconsistent across states. So all government schools should have facilities for pre-primary
education, which would facilitate pre-school education by the government instead of the private sector.
● Exam reform:
○ The policy of no detention should be upheld only till class five and not till class eight.
● Teacher Management:
○ There is a steep rise in teacher shortage, absenteeism, and grievances.
○ Need to constitute an Autonomous Teacher Recruitment Board.
○ Four years integrated B.Ed. the course should be introduced.
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● ICT in Education:
○ There is an inadequate integration of information technology (IT) and the education sector.
● Vocational education and training:
○ The National Skills Qualification Framework should be scaled up.
○ The choice of vocational courses should be in line with local opportunities and resources.
○ Bringing formal certification for vocational education at par with conventional education certificates.
● All India Education Service.
● National Higher Education Promotion and Management Act (NHEPMA):
○ Existing separate laws governing individual regulators in higher education should be replaced by the said
act.
○ The role of existing regulatory bodies like UGC and AICTE should be revised.
● National Accreditation Board (NAB) subsuming the existing accreditation bodies.

KASTURIRANGAN REPORT ON SCHOOL EDUCATION (DRAFT NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY)

For restructuring the education system in India, the government is preparing to roll out a New Education Policy that will
cater to Indian needs in the 4th Industrial Revolution by making use of its demographic dividend. Committee for Draft
National Education Policy (chaired by Dr. K. Kasturirangan) submitted its report on May 31, 2019.

RECENT GOVT INTERVENTIONS IN EDUCATION

Samagra Shiksha

● It is an integrated scheme for school education extending from pre-school to class XII to ensure inclusive and
equitable quality education at all levels of school education.
● It subsumes the three Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and
Teacher Education (TE).
○ The scheme treats school education holistically as a continuum from Pre-school to Class 12.
● The main emphasis of the Scheme is on improving the quality of school education by focusing on the two T’s –
Teacher and Technology.
● The vision of the Scheme is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education from pre-school to senior secondary
stage in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for Education.
○ SDG-4.1: Aims to ensure that all boys and girls complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary
education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
○ SDG 4.5: Aims to eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education.
● The scheme mainly aims to support States in the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
● The Right to Education Act (RTE) is a fundamental right under Article 21-A of the Constitution of India.

MID-DAY MEAL SCHEME

● It is the largest school feeding program of its kind in the world, covering students enrolled in government schools
from Classes 1 to 8.
○ The basic objective of this scheme is to enhance enrolment in schools.
● Under the Ministry of Education this programme was first introduced in 1925 for disadvantaged children in Madras
Municipal Corporation.
○ The union government launched it as a centrally sponsored scheme on a pilot basis in 1995 for children in
Classes 1 to 5.
○ By October 2007, MDMS had been scaled up to Class 8.
● The current version of the programme, was renamed PM Poshan Shakti Nirman or PM Poshan in 2021.
● The scheme covers 11.80 crore children across Classes 1 to 8 (age group 6 to 14).
● It is not just a scheme, but a legal entitlement of all school-going children in primary and upper primary classes,
through the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.

BBBP (Beti Bachao, Beti Padao)

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● It was launched in January 2015 with the aim of addressing sex-selective abortion and the declining child sex ratio
which was at 918 girls for every 1,000 boys in 2011.
● This is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,
and Ministry of Human Resource Development.
● The program is being implemented across 405 districts in the country with objectives that include:
○ Prevention of gender-biased sex-selective elimination.
○ Ensuring survival & protection of the girl child.
○ Ensuring education and participation of the girl child.
○ Protecting the rights of Girl children.

Sex Ratio at Birth:

● Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) has improved by 16 points from 918 (2014-15) to 934 (2019-20), as per the Health
Management Information System (HMIS) data.
● Notable Examples in the Districts include, Mau, Karnal, and Mahendergarh among others.

Health:

● ANC Registration: %age of 1st Trimester ANC (AnteNatal Care) Registration has shown an improving trend from
61% in 2014-15 to 71% in 2019-20.
● Institutional Deliveries: %age of Institutional Deliveries has shown an improving trend from 87% in 2014-15 to
94% in 2019-20.

Education:

● Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER): GER of girls in the schools at the secondary level has improved from 77.45 (2014-15)
to 81.32 (2018-19) as per the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) provisional data.
● Toilet for girls: %age of schools with functional separate toilets for girls has shown improvement from 92.1% in
2014-15 to 95.1% in 2018-19.
● Attitudinal Change:
● The BBBP scheme has been able to bring the focus on the important issue of female infanticide, lack of education
amongst girls, and deprivation of their rights on a life cycle continuum.
● BetiJanmotsav is one of the key programs celebrated in each district.

Academic Bank of Credit:

● It is envisaged as a digital bank that holds the credit earned by a student in any course. It is a major instrument for
facilitating multidisciplinary and holistic education. It will provide multiple entry and exit options for students in
Higher education.
● It will make the youth future-oriented and open the way for an Artificial Intelligence (AI) - driven economy.

NISHTHA 2.0:

● It will provide training to teachers as per their needs and they will be able to give their suggestions to the
department.
● It will have 68 modules including 12 generic and 56 subject-specific modules and will cover around 10 lakh
teachers.
● NISHTHA is the largest teachers’ training program, the first of its kind in the world to motivate and equip teachers
to encourage and foster critical thinking in students.
● The NEP 2020 aims to make “India a global knowledge superpower”.
● It is only the 3rd major revamp of the framework of education in India since independence.
● The two earlier education policies were brought in 1968 and 1986.It aims to bring 2 crore out-of-school children
back into the mainstream through an open schooling system.
● School governance is set to change, with a new accreditation framework and an independent authority to regulate
both public and private schools.
● Assessment reforms with a 360-degree Holistic Progress Card, tracking Student Progress for achieving Learning
Outcomes.
● Vocational Education to start from Class 6 with Internships.

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