The absence of first level healthcare facilities and the high cost of treating even routine illnesses are the immediate problems in the existing healthcare system as also the fact that high costs do not necessarily imply reliability of treatment. No insurance scheme or altruistic healthcare providers can address these problems. The solution lies in strengthening the public healthcare system.

Education and health are commonly devolved functions to sub-national governments, even in nations which have a unitary rather than a federal structure.

PPPs (Public-Private partnerships) are fundamentally changing public procurement by allowing the private sector to exercise greater control over, and often ownership of, public assets, such as land, roads and airports.

Despite India

Profit sharing by mining firms might open an window of innovative accounting, says the author.