Private health sector in India

Editor—Sengupta and Nundy argue that the private health sector in India is burgeoning at the expense of public health care,1 but the two issues cannot be muddled together.​together. Figure 1 Credit: BELINDA LAWLEY/PANOS We cannot wait for potable drinking water and electricity to reach every village before we design and build rockets. Development in different areas should proceed simultaneously, and this should be borne in mind in the healthcare industry. Foreign exchange earned by medical tourism will certainly boost India's economy, which will in turn raise the standard of healthcare systems. What is needed is a systematic approach to make sure that a part of the funds earned is channelled to primary health care. Raising the allocation in the budget for health is definitely called for, but not at the cost of a new source of national income.