This past Thursday, India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, announced a new plan to provide free healthcare access to half a billion poor Indians.

Passing this would mean that with India’s growing economy, those who only receive a few dollars a day for their income would not be left behind.

Presented in India’s budget for 2018 was a health care plan that would provide 100 million families up to 500,000 rupees of coverage each year, dramatically reducing the burden of living in poverty with a medical condition.

Although many details of the program have yet to be finalized, things are looking up for many impoverished individuals. Having this program in place would make it the largest of its kind. Not only would it directly help the Indian people, but it would also create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

It is important to recognize that although India’s government-run hospitals supposedly give free access to all individuals, their quality is poor and driven by corruption.

India is different from other large, developing countries in that average life expectancy is around 68 years, most of this is because of the fact that India has had such a poor system for healthcare in the past.

India’s population is has been greatly affected by the rising water and air pollution, meaning that their health issues normally stem from malnutrition and poor sanitation.

The only issue in this program is that the government has not yet released details on how it could be funded, India’s Finance Ministry only apportioning 314 million dollars for a program that could potentially cost billions of dollars each year. But with India’s upcoming elections, it is more likely that the change will come.

I think it is incredible what the Indian government is proposing to help its impoverished citizens. If it works, they would be able to raise the standard for how governments should treat all of their citizens, rather than focusing on large corporations or their benefactors. Having this system not only provides jobs for the Indian people, but also helps those who need it most.

As a society we should always be pushing towards a system in which we can help one another in reaching the common goal of living a long, comfortable, and healthy life. May we take this as an example to help those in need without expecting anything in return.