Mita Choudhury

Financing health care for all: challenges and opportunities

Indias health financing system is a cause of and an exacerbating factor in the challenges of health inequity, inadequate availability and reach, unequal access, and poor-quality and costly health-care services. Low per person spending on health and insufficient public expenditure result in one of the highest proportions of private out-of-pocket expenses in the world. Citizens receive low value for money in the public and the private sectors. Financial protection against medical expenditures is far from universal with only 10% of the population having medical insurance. The Government of India has made a commitment to increase public spending on health from less than 1% to 3% of the gross domestic product during the next few years. Increased public funding combined with flexibility of financial transfers from centre to state can greatly improve the performance of state-operated public systems. Enhanced public spending can be used to introduce universal medical insurance that can help to substantially reduce the burden of private out-of-pocket expenditures on health. Increased public spending can also contribute to quality assurance in the public and private sectors through effective regulation and oversight. In addition to an increase in public expenditures on health, the Government of India will, however, need to introduce specific methods to contain costs, improve the efficiency of spending, increase accountability, and monitor the effect of expenditures on health.

Bank funding and firm investment in underdeveloped financial markets: evidence from India

This paper highlights the importance of banking institutions in underdeveloped financial markets. Using the concept of external dependence of firms developed in the literature, the paper examines the importance of funds from development banks in India for firm investment. Results indicate that funds from development banks are particularly important for firms with high level of external dependence for funds. It highlights why regulatory reforms related to banking institutions may have adverse implications for firm investment in under-developed financial markets.

Motives Behind Equity Holding by Banks: Evidence from India

This paper examines the motives behind equity holding by banks in non-financial firms. It has been argued that banks hold equity in firms primarily for two reasons: to support their debt holding or for returns as capital investments. This paper tries to examine which among these two motives drive equity holdings by Development Financial Institutions in India (DFIs). Results indicate that equity holding by DFIs in India is primarily driven by their interest as creditors. In poorly performing firms, equity holding by DFIs is also driven by debt restructuring in firms in the form of conversion of debt to equity.