Under India's National Health Policy 2017 targets, what was the recommended expenditure on health as a percentage of GDP, and what was the actual public health expenditure (as % GDP) at the time of policy formulation?

• A Target: 5% GDP; Actual: 1.15% GDP
• B Target: 2.5% GDP; Actual: ~1.15–1.2% GDP ✓
• C Target: 3.0% GDP; Actual: 2.5% GDP
• D Target: 2.5% GDP; Actual: 2.1% GDP

Explanation

National Health Policy 2017 set a target of increasing public health expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2025. At the time of policy formulation, India's public health expenditure was approximately 1.15–1.2% of GDP — one of the lowest among lower-middle-income countries. The NHP 2017 also targeted reducing out-of-pocket expenditure from ~67% to below 50% of total health expenditure. The 5% GDP target mentioned in option A is sometimes cited for total health expenditure (public + private), not public expenditure alone.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

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