India Aims for Universal Health Insurance Coverage by 2033

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that health insurance is a priority for this government and hopes that by 2033, everyone in the country will be covered by insurance. The Finance Minister replied to supplementary questions during Question Hour in the Upper House that the insurance sector is expanding and during ID1, it covered 580 million people in the country. She said, "Health insurance is a priority for this government. In fact, we are hoping that by 2033, everyone will have insurance cover." The Minister said that in December 2025, the government introduced a bill to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, which is aimed at strengthening the market. She said that insurance regulator IRDAI notified rules in 2024 to increase penetration in rural areas. The Finance Minister said, "If we talk about insurance in general, we have a challenge." He said that although insurance coverage is still low, but through targeted reforms and cost-effective measures, the government has made considerable efforts to bridge this gap in the insurance sector. The Finance Minister said that the insurance sector has been developed today.