 bill no  89 of  2017 the constitution (amendment) bill, 2017 by shri  sushil  kumar  singh, mp a billfurther to amend the constitution of indiabe  it enacted by parliament in the sixty-eighth year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called constitution (amendment) act, 2017short title and commencement5(2) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notificationin the official gazette, appoint2 after article 21a of the constitution, the following article shall be inserted, namely:—insertion of a new article 21b"21b the state shall provide affordable medical care, health insurance and healthcare facilities to every citizen in such manner as the state may, by law, determine"right to affordable medical care, etc statement  of  objects  and  reasonsaccording to world health organization, "health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease" in recent years, this statement has been amplified to include the ability to lead a 'socially and economically productive life' right to health is not included as a fundamental right in the indian constitution the constitution makers imposed this duty on state to ensure social and economic justice part iv of the constitution, the directive principles of state policy directs the state to take measures to improve the condition of healthcare of the citizen the supreme court, in paschim banga khet mazdoor samity & ors vs state of west bengal & others, while widening the scope of article 21 and stressing the government's responsibility to provide medical aid to every person in the country, held that in a welfare state, the primary duty of the government is to secure the welfare of the peopleproviding adequate medical facilities for the people is an obligation undertaken by the government in a welfare state the government discharges this obligation by providing medical care to the persons seeking to avail of those facilities in light of the increased debate on expanding infrastructure in the healthcare sector and improved health indicators such as maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate, the concept of right to affordable healthcare assumes immense importancethe bill, therefore, seeks to amend the constitution with a view to make 'right to affordable medical care, health insurance and healthcare facilities' as a fundamental right of every citizen of the countryhence this bill financial  memorandumclause 2 of the bill seeks to provide for incorporation of  'right to affordable medical care, health insurance and healthcare facilities' as a fundamental right of every citizen of the country the bill, therefore, if enacted, would involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that a recurring expenditure of about rupees five hundred crore will be involved per annumno non-recurring expenditure is  likely to be involved———— a billfurther to amend the constitution of india————(shri sushil kumar singh, mp)gmgipmrnd—558ls(s3)—23-06-2017