The erstwhile health policy through an incremental approach had identified the need of new investments in the public health sector. It had also created a vision of investment of 2.5% of Indian GDP for the health sector by 2025 to create a self reliant and Atmanirbhar bharat. States were directed to spend more than 8% of their state budget for the public health sector.
*Anandajit Goswami, PhD Good Health Champion Awardee
Recent NSSO data shows that India has 20 health workers per 20,000 people. As per WHO standard, the minimum number should be 22. While India was earlier poised at 19 and has now increased to 20, we still have not achieved the milestone of 22. Moreover, though, more than 70% of these people are in rural India, only 30% of the health work- force is in the rural sector.
Majority of the health work- force is also employed in the private sector. The work force comprises nurses and they are spread over a wide range of health related work and services. An economy which has been struck by the pandemic leading to a rise in unemployment rate to 8.2% (based on a 30 day moving average method with urban unemployment rate at 8.4% and rural at 8.1%) from 5.36% in 2019 and where labour force participation rate has fallen down to 49.2% in December 2020 from 49.3% in December 2019, it is an imperative to invest in the public health sector of the Indian Economy.
Such an investment will not only create a healthy, future, youth work force enabling a rise in labour productivity but will also create employment and job multipliers. Moreover, it will also enhance the quality of life of the future generation and is essential for a prosperous, futuristic India. The National Health Policy of the Government of India (2017) had already recognised this potential of multiplier generation through investments in the public health sector of India. The erstwhile health policy through an incremental approach had identified the need of new investments in the public health sector. It had also created a vision of investment of 2.5% of Indian GDP for the health sector by 2025 to create a self reliant and Atmanirbhar bharat. States were directed to spend more than 8% of their state budget for the public health sector.
A time has now come to initiate a renewed emphasis and investment for the public health sector to create a safe, productive labour force with job creation for the future of India to facilitate a better quality of life for the entire country in order to attain the SDG3 along with SDG1,8 and 10. This will also entail introduction of new curriculum or learning, pedagogical sessions at the school, college and university level dealing with the theoretical and practical issues of interfaces of social entrepreneurship, social work, public health and economic development.
The curriculum has to bring in new pedagogical techniques and skills on these issues being in line with the National Education Policy of 2020. If this reform is introduced in the learning journey of schools, colleges and universities, a futuristic workforce will be ready to join the job market in the interfaces of social entrepreneurship, social work, public health and economic development within the social and development sector. 
Hence, the pandemic, even though has hit most of the global economies of the world and India, it has also offered for us new windows of opportunity for creating a new social work in order to create a better future to be guided by a structured vision and well directed investments, institutionalised support of trickling down of such investments for the future. All these in the long run once achieved will help us in attaining the SDG goals of No Poverty (SDG1), Good Health and Well Being (SDG3), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG8) and Reduced Inequalities (SDG10) in the short and long run of the Indian Economy and Society.
References:
https://www.who.int/hrh/
https://www.nhp.gov.in/
https://unemploymentinindia.
https://data.worldbank.org/
*Anandajit Goswami, PhD
Associate Professor, HOD
Department of Social and Political Studies
Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences
Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies
Faridabad
Author Page - https://www.amazon.in/Books-
Google Scholar Citation - https://scholar.google.com/
Website:www.anandajitgoswami.