The public, private and voluntary health sectors together contribute towards the provision of health care in India. All these play significant roles in influencing the health status of the Indian population. But their contribution is not without shortcom ings. Indeed, it is largely their inadequacies that account for the limited improvements in the health status of the Indian people. Unfortunately, the chances that the recognition of these pitfalls and their implications will be translated into action and change are very few, given the present influence of the structural adjustment programme on the social sector. On the contrary, the situation is expected to worsen. This paper provides a perspective on India's health care system in the post-independence period In describing India's public, private and voluntary health sectors, it highlights some of the reasons behind the marginal improvements in health status in the country.
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