India, Jan. 19 -- India speaks endlessly of numbers. We are now the world's fourth-largest economy, soon to be the third, we are told with chest-thumping regularity. But numbers matter only when they touch human lives.

One number that should shame us into silence is this: India still does not have enough doctors. The World Health Organisation prescribes one doctor for every 1,000 people. India, at present, manages roughly one for every 830 (including AYUSH). On paper, that sounds respectable. On the ground, it is a catastrophe.

The government's plan is to increase the number of medical colleges from around 360 to about 600 by 2030. For a country of India's size and resources, this is not an impossible dream. It is eminently achievable. ...