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344 Economic Survey 2021-22

and exit points, (iv) promoting globalisation of education, (v) leveraging the potential
of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching and learning process
for all learners.

The latest National Family Health Survey-5 showed encouraging outcomes of Government
programmes in the health and other social sectors. Total fertility rate (TFR) has come
down from 2.2 in 2015-16 to 2 in 2019-21. Significant improvement is seen in the health
infrastructure and services reaching the public. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), 83
districts in the country have already become ‘Har Ghar Jal’ districts. Government
addressed the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic, by not only intensifying
the delivery and outreach of existing programmes, but also supplementing these by
various well targeted and timely new interventions. Consequently, Government spending
on social services increased significantly during the pandemic, recording an increase of
9.8 percent over 2020-21.

INTRODUCTION

10.1 The need for a strong and resilient social infrastructure became even more important
during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that brought into focus the vulnerabilities in social
infrastructure across countries. Specifically, pandemic posed the challenge of balancing
livelihoods while saving lives. To save lives and livelihoods amidst the COVID-crises, countries
have adopted various strategies. India, the country with the second largest population and a large
elderly population, adopted a multi-pronged approach. Given the nature of pandemic, the health
response including vaccination strategy remained critical. India, one of the young nations in
the world, also faced the challenge to sustain the learning outcomes in schools, building skills
and reskilling population, employment and livelihood to one of the largest labour forces in the
world. Government’s response through ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ packages and other
sector specific initiatives have provided the necessary support to mitigate the adverse impact of
pandemic.

10.2 This chapter gives a brief account of India’s health response to the pandemic, states the
facts on social services expenditure, reviews education infrastructure and outcomes, lists effort
of skill development, examines trends in employment, takes stock of efforts made to increase
health services, and examines longer term health trends using latest National Family Health
Survey (NFHS)-5 2019-21 data, while also reviewing drinking water and sanitation access, and
gives status of rural housing access in the country.

INDIA’S HEALTH RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19

10.3 Like most other countries, India also faced two COVID-19 waves: first in 2020 and
second in 2021 (Figure 1). During the first-wave, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases
started rising progressively from the month of May 2020, and peaked in mid-September 2020.
Thereafter, the country faced a massive surge in COVID-19 cases starting March 2021, with a
peak of more than four lakh daily cases in May 2021 and more than 4400 daily deaths in end
1
1 TWC India Edit Team. (2020, December 19). As Data Shows Clear Trends of Recovery, India Records One Crore COVID-19 Cases in 323 Days.