A particular phenomenon/event/change/public policy/action has positive and/or negative effects.

I was always puzzled about how to assess and analyze whether it, especially when it comes to public policy, is good or not because I could see the validity of both sides’ arguments and thus was unable to decide whether it was a right or a wrong policy.

But later, I realized that policies aren’t wrong or right, they are effectively good or could be better.

Solutions/policies basically answer “How to solve the problem?”. Most radical realization was that there was no “one-size fits all” perfect solution to a problem. This rattled my head because being a student of Computers and Science I learnt that there was always a best/optimal/efficient solution to any problem.

Coming to the title of my story, “Weighted Sum”. I realized that there is one scientific or mathematical approach which is really helpful to me for measuring the degree of good of a policy. Weighted Sum means:

A weight function is a mathematical device used when performing a sum, integral, or average to give some elements more “weight” or influence on the result than other elements in the same set.

By analyzing a policy on different parameters (usually stakeholders it affects) and assigning weights, based on the amount of importance they hold in the present socio-economic and political context I could understand whether a policy was good or it could be better.

I found this to be a really effective method. To test, analyze, re-design, recommend changes to a policy. In my future posts I am going to try and explain how each policy or move government of India (picked at random because I am whimsical) is affecting different stakeholders (parameters). I’ll also finally quote some expert recommendations, if there are any, on how to better design a policy.

“Prevention is the best medicine”

Primary Health Care (PHC) provides multi-disciplinary, patient-centered care with a focus on both the treatment and prevention of various conditions.

Current status of PHC in India is very grim. Besides low rates of institutionalized delivery and immunization coverage, high maternal and infant mortality rate which is definitely a concern and priority, availability of formal primary care in urban and rural areas is virtually non-existent.

The National Health Protection Mission (NHPM) is expected to provide basic health insurance cover for 100 million families, based on a range of socio-economic criteria on the basis of Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011. The scheme covers only the costs of treatment and hospitalization at the secondary and tertiary levels.

As mentioned earlier, PHC is the weakest link in the provision of public health in India. The crucial point is that poorly delivered primary care inevitably increases the burden on health and finance at the secondary and tertiary levels down the line.

Some of the challenges in primary health care delivery are poor quality, absence of nearby facility (accessibility), long wait times, inconvenient timings, etc.

But, the provision for creation of “health and wellness centers” which are targeting remote and under-served areas as part of Ayushmaan Bharat is a welcome step. They could be the foundation of India’s health system.

However, it is important to establish them in such a way that they tackle the present the challenges that the PHCs face.

Although Insurance based Health Schemes do go a long way in mitigating out-of-pocket expenditure, banking Government invest in Health care majorly in this route alone severely strains the public purse and is unsustainable.

You are more than your brain.

You are more than your partner.

You are more than you friends.

You are more than your family.

You are more than the knowledge that you have, the book you read or the exams you cracked or you want to.

You are more than the problems that you have.

When you are so huge, why are you scared to confront any issue?

When you are so massive, why are scared of failure?

Failure is just a relative thing. Relativeness of anything is lost once you are indifferent.

Be indifferent, be strong and be your own self.

It might seem paradoxical. So what?

You are the product of stardust! You are part of this universe!

In fact , without you, the earth would not be the earth that is now.

If you did not exist, the difference of mass in Earth before you were born would have made a significant difference, the Earth itself would not have existed or it would have been a little different. If your absence is so crucial for the almighty Earth, think, how crucial your presence should be to mother Earth.

As I said, you are more than what you think you are or will be.

You are matter and you matter the most.