PULSE OF POLICY : Governing Public Health and Medicine in India

Pulse of Policy: Governing Public Health and Medicine in India offers a systematic and comprehensive examination of the legal and regulatory architecture governing healthcare in India. Structured across five parts and fifteen chapters, the book traverses the full spectrum of health law — from its constitutional origins to its contemporary frontiers — providing scholars, legal practitioners, policymakers, and healthcare professionals with an authoritative analytical framework.
Part I establishes the constitutional and foundational underpinnings of healthcare rights in India. Beginning with the jurisprudential evolution of Article 21, the author traces how the Supreme Court has progressively expanded the right to life to encompass the right to health — transforming healthcare from a matter of legislative discretion into a constitutional obligation. Landmark judgments including Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978), Pt. Parmanand Katara v. Union of India (1989), and Consumer Education and Research Centre v. Union of India (1995) are critically analysed to illuminate the doctrine of positive state obligations in healthcare. The role of Directive Principles — particularly Articles 38, 39, 41, 42, and 47 — is examined as both a normative mandate and an interpretive guide for judicial expansion of fundamental rights. This section further surveys the historical evolution of health policy in India and the integration of international legal frameworks, including the International Health Regulations, into domestic governance structures.
Part II maps the regulatory architecture of Indian healthcare across multiple tiers of government. It examines the Central healthcare regulatory framework, the division of responsibilities between the Union and States under the Seventh Schedule, and the role of professional bodies such as the National Medical Commission in self-regulation. Part III then descends into the operational dimensions of clinical practice, addressing the regulation of medical professionals, pharmaceutical and medical device control under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the governance of specialised healthcare domains.
Part IV addresses public health and emergency response, examining the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the legal frameworks governing communicable disease control, environmental health, and occupational safety. The analysis engages with how these instruments performed under stress — including during the COVID-19 pandemic — and reflects on the adequacy of India's emergency health powers in light of comparative international experience.
Part V turns to the intersections of healthcare access, financing, and emerging challenges. It analyses health insurance regulation, the governance of digital health technologies, and the legal implications of telemedicine. The concluding chapter confronts contemporary frontiers — including healthcare delivery in humanitarian crises and conflict zones, the regulation of medical tourism, and the governance of biotechnology and personalised medicine — underscoring the need for legislative reform capable of keeping pace with rapid technological and geopolitical transformation.
The book is supplemented by comprehensive appendices, including a digest of landmark case law with key principles, a comparative legislative matrix benchmarking India's health law framework against those of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia, and practical compliance checklists for medical licensing and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Pulse of Policy makes a significant contribution to the literature on health law in India by integrating constitutional theory, regulatory analysis, and comparative jurisprudence into a single, cohesive reference. It is an essential resource for anyone engaged in the study, practice, or reform of public health governance in India.