The Commission has consistently taken the view that the right to a life with human dignity, enshrined in the Constitution, must result in the strengthening of measures to ensure that the people of this country, and particularly those belonging to economically disadvantaged sections of society, have access to better and more comprehensive health facilities.

It was to widen and deepen its own understanding of the issues involved and to promote the view that the right to an adequate level of health-care was essential to a life with dignity, that the Commission in 1998 constituted a Core Advisory Group on Health, headed by its Chairperson and comprising Professor V. Ramalingaswamy, Dr. Shanti Ghosh, Dr. Prema Ramachandran, Professor Pravin Visaria, Professor N. Kochupillai, Professor K. Srinath Reddy and Professor L.M. Nath. The Group was specifically requested to prepare a plan of action for systemic improvements in the health delivery systems of the country.

Upon the passing away of Prof. V. Ramalingaswamy, the Commission has decided to re-constitute the Core Group on Health, as follows.

Dr. N.H. Antia, Director, The Foundation for Research in Community Health, Pune will be the Chairperson of the Group. The other Members of the Group are Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, Department of Cardiology, AIIMS; Prof. L.M. Nath, Head of the Department, Department of Community Medicine, AIIMS; Prof. N. Kochupillai, Professor and Head of the Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, AIIMS; Dr. Shanti Ghosh, Indian Academy of Paediatrics; Dr. Prema Ramachandran, Adviser, Planning Commission; Ms. Rekha Sharma, Chief Dietician, AIIMS and Dr. H.K. Sudarshan, Chairman, Task Force on Health and Family Welfare Government of Karnataka.