Gujarat's state-owned hospitals take a beating, as people increasingly depend on private facilities: Govt data

Non-hospitalized treatment: Urban reliance on govt hospitals (%)

By A Representative

Gujarat is all set to “beat” all Indian states in privatization of basic healthcare services, if the latest data, released by the Government of India, are any indication. Based on primary survey, the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) data show that just about 24 per cent in Gujarat’s rural areas and 15 per cent in urban areas receive non-hospitalized treatment in government hospitals, while the rest relied on private facilities.
The data, in fact, go to show that, the percentage of population getting non-hospitalized treatment in government hospitals in rural Gujarat has virtually stagnated over the last two decades and drastically gone down in urban Gujarat; but the all-India trend is moving in the opposite of this.

Thus, in 1996, 25 per cent of Gujarat’s rural areas got non-hospitalized treatment in government hospitals, as against 19 per cent in the country’s rural areas. The respective figure for Gujarat in 2004 was 21 per cent and for India 21 per cent; however, in 2014, it reached 24 per cent for Gujarat and 28 per cent for India.
As for the urban areas, 22 per cent of Gujarat’s population received non-hospitalized treatment in private hospitals in 1996, which went down to 18 per cent in 2004 and 15 per cent in 2014. However, the respective figures for India’s urban areas are 20 per cent in 1996, 19 per cent in 2004 and 21 per cent 2014.

Hospitalized treatment: The data further show that 76.6 per cent in the rural areas and 76.7 per cent of the urban areas received private hospitalized treatment in Gujarat in 2014, which is one of the highest in the country. The data show that all-India average on this score is 58.1 per cent and 68 per cent respectively.
The states where a higher percentage of people relied on private hospitals compared to Gujarat are Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh in rural areas, and Karnataka, Haryana, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in urban areas.

What is equally interesting is that, in the age group 15-49, in Gujarat, 59 per cent of pregnant women in rural areas and 72 per cent of them in urban areas were taken to private hospitals for delivery in 2014 – which is the highest in India. The respective percentage for India is 24 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively.
The NSSO report, titled “Health in India”, and released this month, comments, “Reliance on the public sector for hospitalized treatment varied a great deal from state to state. The percentage of hospitalized treatments received from public sector hospitals varied from 19 (Maharashtra) to 89 (Assam) in the rural areas.”

It added, “Apart from Assam, two other states, viz., Orissa, West Bengal reported relatively high proportions of cases of hospitalized treatment from public institutions.” On the other hand, it said, “Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh showed a high degree of reliance on private sector hospitals.”
“In the urban areas the percentage of hospitalized treatments received from public sector hospitals varied from 18 (Haryana and Karnataka) to 58 (Odisha). In Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana also higher extent of dependence on private sector hospitals is observed”, it said.

Comments

Gram sabha as reformer: Mandla’s quiet challenge to the liquor economy

By Raj Kumar Sinha* This year, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organising a two-day PESA Mahotsav in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 23–24 December 2025. The event marks the passage of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), enacted by Parliament on 24 December 1996 to establish self-governance in Fifth Schedule areas. Scheduled Areas are those notified by the President of India under Article 244(1) read with the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for a distinct framework of governance recognising the autonomy of tribal regions. At present, Fifth Schedule areas exist in ten states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. The PESA Act, 1996 empowers Gram Sabhas—the village assemblies—as the foundation of self-rule in these areas. Among the many powers devolved to them is the authority to take decisions on local matters, including the regulation...

MG-NREGA: A global model still waiting to be fully implemented

By Bharat Dogra When the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) was introduced in India nearly two decades ago, it drew worldwide attention. The reason was evident. At a time when states across much of the world were retreating from responsibility for livelihoods and welfare, the world’s second most populous country—with nearly two-thirds of its people living in rural or semi-rural areas—committed itself to guaranteeing 100 days of employment a year to its rural population.

When a city rebuilt forgets its builders: Migrant workers’ struggle for sanitation in Bhuj

Khasra Ground site By Aseem Mishra* Access to safe drinking water and sanitation is not a privilege—it is a fundamental human right. This principle has been unequivocally recognised by the United Nations and repeatedly affirmed by the Supreme Court of India as intrinsic to the right to life and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution. Yet, for thousands of migrant workers living in Bhuj, this right remains elusive, exposing a troubling disconnect between constitutional guarantees, policy declarations, and lived reality.

Policy changes in rural employment scheme and the politics of nomenclature

By N.S. Venkataraman* The Government of India has introduced a revised rural employment programme by fine-tuning the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which has been in operation for nearly two decades. The MGNREGA scheme guarantees 100 days of employment annually to rural households and has primarily benefited populations in rural areas. The revised programme has been named VB-G RAM–G (Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission – Gramin). The government has stated that the revised scheme incorporates several structural changes, including an increase in guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days, modifications in the financing pattern, provisions to strengthen unemployment allowances, and penalties for delays in wage payments. Given the extent of these changes, the government has argued that a new name is required to distinguish the revised programme from the existing MGNREGA framework. As has been witnessed in recent years, the introdu...

Rollback of right to work? VB–GRAM G Bill 'dilutes' statutory employment guarantee

By A Representative The Right to Food Campaign has strongly condemned the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–GRAM G) Bill, 2025, describing it as a major rollback of workers’ rights and a fundamental dilution of the statutory Right to Work guaranteed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In a statement, the Campaign termed the repeal of MGNREGA a “dark day for workers’ rights” and accused the government of converting a legally enforceable, demand-based employment guarantee into a centralised, discretionary welfare scheme.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

'Structural sabotage': Concern over sector-limited job guarantee in new employment law

By A Representative The advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has raised concerns over the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB–G RAM G), which was approved during the recently concluded session of Parliament amid protests by opposition members. The legislation is intended to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

India’s Halal economy 'faces an uncertain future' under the new food Bill

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The proposed Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2025 marks a decisive shift in India’s food regulation landscape by seeking to place Halal certification exclusively under government control while criminalising all private Halal certification bodies. Although the Bill claims to promote “transparency” and “standardisation,” its structure and implications raise serious concerns about religious freedom, economic marginalisation, and the systematic dismantling of a long-established, Muslim-led Halal ecosystem in India.

Making rigid distinctions between Indian and foreign 'historically untenable'

By A Representative Oral historian, filmmaker and cultural conservationist Sohail Hashmi has said that everyday practices related to attire, food and architecture in India reflect long histories of interaction and adaptation rather than rigid or exclusionary ideas of identity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Indian History Forum (IHF).

Search This Blog