Public Health Policy is a broad concept and a set of government strategies and regulations that guide the healthcare system and public health programs in India. Its most concrete form is the National Health Policy (NHP), a guiding document periodically published by the Central Government.
The first NHP was adopted in 1983. It was created following India's commitment to the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1978, and its primary goal was to achieve "Health for All by 2000 AD" by establishing a comprehensive primary healthcare system. This policy is rooted in the Constitution, where Article 47 (a Directive Principle of State Policy) makes the improvement of public health a primary duty of the State. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has interpreted the Right to Health as an integral part of the fundamental Article 21 (Right to Life).
The policy works by setting national goals, guiding funding decisions, and defining service delivery models, with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare responsible for its formulation and execution. The NHP has changed recently, with the latest version being the National Health Policy 2017, which replaced the NHP 2002. The NHP 2017 shifted the focus from "sick care" to a preventive and promotive "wellness" approach. Key provisions include the goal to increase government health expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2025. This policy connects directly to the flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat, which was launched in 2018 as an implementation of the NHP 2017 to achieve Universal Health Coverage.