From the time of independence, the Government of India has taken many steps to build vast health infrastructure and manpower at different levels. They are as follows:

1. At the village level, single – physician clinics popularly known as Primary Health Centres are established. Apart from regular medical treatments, They mainly focus on Infant immunization. Anti epidemic drives, Birth – Control programs and pregnancy related care both pre-natal and post natal.

2. Government has given licence to voluntary agencies and private sector to establish hospitals, pharmacy and nursing colleges manned by trained professionals and para medical professionals.

3. Increase in the number of hospitals from 9300 to 43,300 and hospital beds from 1.2 million to 7.2 million by 2000.

4. Private sector is playing predominant role in medical education and training, medical technology and diaostics, manufacture and sale of pharmaceuticals, hospital construction and provision of medical services.

5. Due to the liberalization policy of Government of India, many non-resident Indians and industrial and pharmaceutical companies have set up state-of-afl super-specialty hospitals to attract Indicatess rich and medical tourists.

6. The Indian systems of medicine includes six systems viz., ayurveda. yoga, unani, siddha, naturopathy and homeopathy (AYUSH). There are 3,000 ISM hospitals, 23,000 dispensaries and about 6,00,000 registered practitioners in India.

But, one of the studies reveals that India has about 17% of world’s population hut it bears just 20% of the global burden of diseases (GBD).

In India, more than 50% of GBD is accounted b’ communicable diseases like diarrhoea. malaria and tuberculosis. Every year about 5,00,000 children die due to waterborne diseases. It is also reported that only 38% of primary health centres have the required number of medical practitioners and only 30% of PHCs have the requisite medicines.

The people living in rural areas do not have sufficient medical infrastructure. There are only 0.36 hospitals for every lakh people in rural areas and in urban areas it is 3.6 for every lakh population.