Policy on Health Workers in India - An Unfinished agenda for Improved Regulation

Regulation of Rural Medical Practitioners (RMPs); successful implementation of Clinical Establishment Act (CEA) and under utilization of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) remain the unfinished agendas of successive national and various state governments in India. Adding to the crisis is the controversial provisions in the recently formulated National Medical Commission, which is to replace the Medical Council of India, the regulatory body that has been maligned with corruption since decades. We discuss here the issue in light of evidence available that can guide the policy makers at the national and the state levels.