Per capita health spending drops 2nd year in row from Covid peak in 2021-22

The per capita expenditure by Delhi government on health fell for the second year running ~ dropping from over ₹4,300 in 2021-22 to around ₹3,500 in 2023-24 - according to figures in the Delhi Economic Survey 2025-26 published on Monday, as spending continued to normalise after the Covid-19 pandemic.

- Ridhima Gupta

The report also noted that the government's health spending as share of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) contracted by 15 basis points — from 0.83% in 2022-23 and 0.68% in 2023-24.

The report also noted that health spending stood at 0.68% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in 2023-24.

The survey shows that per capita health spending had followed a steady upward trajectory in the years leading to the pandemic, rising from ₹1,962 in 2015-16 to ₹2,867 in 2019-20. However, with the onset of Cov-id-19 in 2020-21, spending saw a sharp jump to ₹3,133, marking a break from the earlier trend as emergency healthcare needs surged. This intensified in 2021-22, when per capita expenditure soared to a record ₹4,361.87.