The Aarogya Setu and CoWin apps that helped contain the spread of Covid by speeding up vaccinations in a short period have been called game-changers. Adoption and use of these technologies enabled “early re-opening of the economy”, said ‘The Indian Economy: A Review’ by the Department of Economic Affairs.

About 221 crore Covid vaccines have been administered to those aged 18 years and above.

“With the onset of the pandemic, the Aarogya Setu and CoWin apps proved to be game-changers, helping to track and contain the spread of the virus and facilitating the vaccination of many people in a short period. This boosted consumption by enabling an early reopening of the economy,” the report mentioned.

V Anantha Naageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, in the preface of the report, wrote that the government’s Covid management and the vaccination record have been “instrumental in the quick recovery staged by the economy”.

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The report mentions that there has been a “consistent decline” in out-of-pocket health expenditure from 62.6 per cent of total health expenditure in FY15 to 47.1 per cent of the total health expenditure in FY20.

A decline in the maternal mortality ratio to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20 from 130 per lakh has also been reported.

The social security and healthcare net has expanded to 30.3 crore Ayushman Bharat cards and 6.2 crore hospital admissions, as of January 17, 2024. Some 10,000-odd Jan Aushadi Kendras (generic medicine shops) have also been set-up which sell medicines at 50 -90 per cent cheaper prices than market rates.

Education sector revamp

While India embraced e-Vidya during the pandemic, allowing online study at home, there has also been a structural reform in the education system through the National Education Policy.

Besides undoing the impact of Covid-19 on learning, as seen in the National Achievement Survey 2021 results, the need to upgrade the quality of education imparted in the majority of schools has been well recognised.

In that direction, the formulation of the National Education Policy, including the national credit framework, teacher training and similar pedagogical changes have been termed as a “silent revolution to watch out for in the current decade”.

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The FinMin report mentions that in the past decade, there has been a “transformative journey in skill development”.

“There remains ample scope to mainstream skilling into education curriculum (also listed under the National Education Policy) and up-skilling a large chunk of the existing workforce into future-relevant skills,” the report said.

With 50.2 per cent of men and 41 per cent of women with ten or more years of schooling in the 15-49 age group, there is an opportunity to make the education-skill continuum “the greatest weapon”.

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