According to the Economic Survey 2022, what was the government expenditure on healthcare in 2021-22?

MP NHM CHO-2024 (Shift-2)

General Knowledge

Easy

Appeared in: MP NHM CHO-2024 (Shift-2)

Explanation

The Economic Survey 2021-22 reported that the government's expenditure on healthcare for the fiscal year 2021-22 was 2.1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This marked a significant increase from 1.8% in 2020-21 and 1.3% in 2019-20, showing a consistent upward trend.
The increase is attributed to the heightened focus on strengthening the country's healthcare infrastructure and services, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic.
This spending is moving towards the National Health Policy 2017's target of increasing public health expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2025.

Option A: This figure represents the government's health expenditure for the previous fiscal year, 2020-21.
Option C: This percentage is substantially higher than India's actual public spending on health. Such levels are more typical of total health spending in some developed nations, not just government expenditure.
Option D: This is an extremely high and unrealistic figure for public healthcare expenditure in any country, including India.

Visual 1: Bar Chart - A bar chart comparing India's government health expenditure as a percentage of GDP over the last five years (e.g., 2017-18 to 2021-22) to illustrate the increasing trend.
Visual 2: Pie Chart - A pie chart showing the breakdown of total government expenditure for 2021-22, highlighting the share allocated to the health sector (8.6%).

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Government Healthcare Expenditure as per Economic Survey 2022 as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Understanding the government's investment in healthcare helps nurses and healthcare professionals gauge the policy direction and potential for resource allocation in public health systems.
Increased funding often translates to better infrastructure, more hiring, improved availability of supplies, and expansion of public health programs like immunization and disease control, directly impacting nursing practice.
What if? - If the expenditure had decreased, it might signal budget cuts, potentially leading to understaffing, resource scarcity in government hospitals, and a slowdown in the expansion of health schemes, increasing the workload and challenges for nurses in the public sector.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the key terms in the question: 'Economic Survey 2022', 'government expenditure on healthcare', and the specific year '2021-22'.
This is a factual recall question based on a specific government report. The answer is a precise data point.
Recall or look up the specific percentage of GDP mentioned in the Economic Survey for that year.
Evaluate the given options. Eliminate options that are clearly too high (8%, 20%) or might correspond to a different time period (1.8%).
Select the option that matches the data from the report for the specified year.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Government Healthcare Expenditure as per Economic Survey 2022
Stem keywords: Economic Survey 2022, government expenditure, healthcare, 2021-22, GDP
Lead-in keywords: what was

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