ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how historically the state in the Indian context from the ancient period looked after the health of its people. With ushering of the colonial period, the British empire introduced the western system of medicine and also formal medical education in India. After Independence, the welfare state promised to provide healthcare to its population. The Bhore Committee Report, the official technical document on public health in newly Independent India, provided the guidelines for the development of health infrastructure. It also recognized the presence and role of private healthcare in India. The chapter discusses the private healthcare sector and privatization of the healthcare services as two entirely different things. There are three phases of the growth of private healthcare in India. It also shows that within the ‘promises and the commitments’ of the Independent Indian state the interests of the private healthcare sector were also accommodated. Inadequacies of the public resources provided the space for private players in healthcare to flourish.
