NEW DELHI: With a whopping 67 million people estimated to be affected by diabetes in the country, the government is considering a proposal for conducting free glucose test for the entire population.
"Diabetes has reached epidemic proportion in India and there is a plan to arrange free glucose test for the entire population. It is under consideration for quite a long time and we are into an inter-ministerial discussions," Science and Technology minister Jitendra Singh told reporters.
He said the idea behind the move is that earlier detection of the disease can lead to easier management of the disease and lesser possibility of the risk of complications such as kidney failure and blindness which causes enormous burden on the society.
"We are number two in the world in terms of diabetes cases and soon we could overtake China and hence the screening of the disease becomes crucial," he said.
According to estimates, India already has 67 million diabetes cases while China has about 92 million. It is estimated that by 2030, India will have around 100 million diabetes patients and could surpass even China.
Singh referred to the research supported by the Department of Biotechnology on genes and development of stem cells which could be an answer to many diseases such as diabetes.
The government had earlier announced its plan to launch the flagship National Health Assurance Mission which would comprise assured health packages, including essential drugs and diagnostics.
While the poor are likely to get treatment free of cost under the mission, the rest of the population are expected to be covered under an insurance mechanism.
A package of preventive and positive health information will also be made available to all citizens and health insurance will be a built-in feature of the mission.
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