29 January 2026·PIB

HEALTHY POPULATION A KEY PILLAR TO ENSURE RESILIENT FUTURE: ECONOMIC SURVEY 2025-26

In this note

1. At a Glance

Chapter of the Economic Survey 2025-26 (Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs) framing public health as human-capital infrastructure essential for sustained productivity and growth [1].
Documents India's outperformance of global trends on maternal, infant and child mortality while flagging emerging threats: obesity, ultra-processed foods (UPFs), digital addiction, mental health [1][2].
UPSC relevance: cuts across GS-II (Health, Government schemes) and GS-III (Economic Survey, S&T applications); rich in MCQ-grade numbers.

Tabled in Parliament ahead of Union Budget 2026-27; the chapter explicitly identifies a "healthy population" as a pillar of resilient future growth [1].
Introduces fresh policy hooks: PRAGYATAH framework (digital education / screen time) and the Online Gaming (Regulation) Act, 2025 to curb digital addiction in children [1].

Builds on the Economic Survey 2024-25 finding that government share in total health expenditure rose from 29.0% (FY15) to 48.0% (FY22) [3].
Continuum: National Health Mission (NHM, 2013) → Ayushman Bharat (2018) with PM-JAY, HWCs, ABDM, e-Sanjeevani → present focus on NCDs, mental health and digital wellness [1][2].
Aligns India's trajectory with SDG-3 (2030) mortality targets [2].

Publisher: Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance [1].
Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR): India's decline 86% since 1990 vs global 48% [2].
Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR): India 78% decline vs global 61% (1990-2023) [2].
Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR): India 70% vs global 54% (1990-2023) [2].
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): Fell >37% in past decade — from 40 per 1,000 live births (2013) → 25 (2023) [2].
UPF market growth in India: >150% (2009-2023) — among the fastest globally [2].
Digital health platforms: Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), e-Sanjeevani (tele-consultation), Hospital Management Information System [1][2].
Mental health: Tele-MANAS (national tele-mental health programme) and SHUT (Service for Healthy Use of Technology) Clinic at NIMHANS, Bengaluru [1].
Education / Digital wellness: PRAGYATAH framework — Ministry of Education guide on screen time [2].
Statute: Online Gaming (Regulation) Act, 2025 — addresses gaming addiction in children [1].
Emerging tool: AI and tech-driven surveys to identify "health hotspots" [1].

Economic

Healthy population = improved human capital and labour productivity, reducing out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) [1][3].
NCDs (diabetes, CVD, hypertension) impose growing fiscal burden via UPF-driven obesity [2].

Social

Mortality gains improve gender equity (MMR ↓) and child welfare; obesity now an "all age-group" risk [2].
Digital addiction erodes social capital and academic outcomes — flagged for children [2].

Scientific / Technological

ABDM creates citizen health IDs; e-Sanjeevani scales tele-consultation [2].
AI-driven epidemiological surveys for hotspot mapping mark a shift to predictive public health [1].

Administrative / Governance

Multi-ministry coordination: MoHFW (Tele-MANAS, ABDM), MoE (PRAGYATAH), MeitY (Online Gaming Act) [1][2].
Survey recommends multi-pronged strategy (taxation, labelling, awareness) for UPFs and obesity [2].

Legal / Regulatory

Online Gaming (Regulation) Act, 2025 — first statutory architecture targeting digital addiction [1].
Dietary/policy interventions on UPFs implicitly invoke FSSAI labelling regime [2].

2025: Enactment of the Online Gaming (Regulation) Act, 2025 [1].
2025-26: Economic Survey 2025-26 dedicates a chapter to "Healthy Population" highlighting AI-based health hotspot identification [1].
2024-25: Government share of THE rose to 48% (FY22) per prior Survey [3].
2023: IMR recorded at 25 per 1,000 live births [2].

India's MMR decline since 1990: 86% vs global 48% [2].
India's U5MR decline 1990-2023: 78% [2].
India's NMR decline 1990-2023: 70% [2].
IMR fell from 40 (2013) to 25 (2023) — drop >37% [2].
UPF market growth in India 2009-2023: >150% [2].
ABDM and e-Sanjeevani = digital health pillars cited in Survey [1].
Tele-MANAS = national tele-mental health helpline [1].
SHUT Clinic located at NIMHANS, Bengaluru — for technology overuse [1].
PRAGYATAH = framework by Ministry of Education on screen time [2].
Online Gaming (Regulation) Act, 2025 targets children's digital addiction [1].
Government share in Total Health Expenditure: 29% (FY15) → 48% (FY22) [3].
Economic Survey is authored by Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance [1].

GS-II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector — Health.
GS-III: Indian Economy (Economic Survey); Science & Technology applications in everyday life.
Probable stems: 1. "Healthy population is the foundation of a resilient economy." Discuss in light of Economic Survey 2025-26. 2. Examine the role of digital health initiatives (ABDM, e-Sanjeevani, Tele-MANAS) in achieving Universal Health Coverage. 3. Ultra-processed foods and digital addiction represent the "new public health frontier" for India. Suggest a multi-pronged policy response.

Ayushman Bharat–PM-JAY — flagship insurance arm.
National Health Mission (NHM) — umbrella programme behind MMR/IMR gains.
National Mental Health Programme & Tele-MANAS — mental health architecture.
FSSAI front-of-pack labelling regulations — UPF link.
SDG-3 targets (2030) — global benchmark.
National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) — data backbone.
DPI / India Stack (ABDM, ABHA) — digital public infrastructure in health.
Online Gaming (Regulation) Act, 2025 — statutory dimension of digital wellness.

Confusing NMR (neonatal, 0-28 days) with IMR (under 1 year) and U5MR (under 5).
Attributing PRAGYATAH to MoHFW — it is Ministry of Education [2].
Confusing Tele-MANAS (mental health) with e-Sanjeevani (general tele-consultation) [1].
Locating SHUT Clinic in AIIMS — it is at NIMHANS, Bengaluru [1].
Citing global MMR decline as 86% — that is India's figure; global is 48% [2].