NSO सर्वे दर्शाता है कि स्वास्थ्य‑संकल्प व्यवहार में सुधार हुआ; ग्रामीण और शहरी भारत में बीमा कवरेज तीन गुना हो गया (2025‑2026)

<p>The <span class="key-term" data-definition="National Statistical Office (NSO) — India’s principal statistical agency under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, responsible for large‑scale surveys and data dissemination (GS3: Economy)">NSO</span> released the 80th round of the household consumption health survey on <strong>April 29, 2026</strong>, revealing a marked rise in health‑seeking behaviour across the country.</p> <h3>Key Developments</h3> <ul> <li>The <span class="key-term" data-definition="Proportion of the population reported ailing (PPRA) — a health indicator measuring the percentage of people who reported being ill during a reference period; useful for tracking disease burden and health‑seeking trends (GS3: Health)">PPRA</span> for 2025 nearly doubled compared with 2017‑18, climbing from <strong>6.8% to 12.2%</strong> in rural areas and from <strong>9.1% to 14.9%</strong> in urban areas.</li> <li>Coverage under <span class="key-term" data-definition="Government health insurance and financing schemes — programmes such as Ayushman Bharat‑PMJAY that provide financial protection for health services, aiming to increase access and reduce out‑of‑pocket expenditure (GS3: Health)">government health insurance and financing schemes</span> expanded more than threefold, rising from <strong>12.9% to 45.5%</strong> in rural regions and from <strong>8.9% to 31.8%</strong> in urban centres.</li> <li>The survey, part of the <span class="key-term" data-definition="80th round of the household consumption health survey — a periodic, nationally representative survey that captures data on health expenditure, utilisation, and outcomes, informing policy design (GS3: Economy)">80th round of the household consumption health survey</span>, provides the most recent baseline for assessing the impact of health‑related policies.</li> </ul> <h3>Important Facts</h3> <p>The rise in <span class="key-term" data-definition="Health‑seeking behaviour — the actions individuals take to obtain medical care, including preventive, curative, and rehabilitative services; a key metric for evaluating public health interventions (GS3: Health)">health‑seeking behaviour</span> reflects improved awareness, better accessibility, and the effectiveness of recent insurance expansions. Rural areas, traditionally lagging in health infrastructure, showed a sharper increase in both PPRA and insurance coverage, indicating that policy outreach is beginning to bridge the urban‑rural divide.</p> <h3>UPSC Relevance</h3> <p>These findings are directly relevant to GS‑3 (Economy & Social Development) and GS‑4 (Ethics) topics. Aspirants should note the role of the <span class="key-term" data-definition="National Statistical Office (NSO)">NSO</span> in data‑driven governance, the impact of large‑scale insurance schemes on universal health coverage, and the importance of monitoring health indicators like PPRA to gauge policy outcomes. The statistics also illustrate the challenges of