Occupational health in India

Abstract

The population of India has crossed the billion mark; only one other country (China) shares this distinction. A declining female population and low literacy are negatives in an otherwise vibrant country. The empowerment of females and their role in society has become a point of debate, and radical economic changes are likely, to allow India to join the global economy. Problems in occupational health and safety (OHS) include: OHS legislation that covers only a minority of the working population; child labour; a physician-driven OHS model; little attention to industrial hygiene; poor surveillance of occupational diseases (making it impossible to gauge the burden of illness due to occupational exposures); and a fragile OHS academic base. A silver lining comprises the inclusion of OHS in national health policy and the decision by the Indian Medical Association to educate its members in occupational health. India urgently requires modern OHS legislation with adequate enforcement machinery, and establishment of centres of excellence in occupational medicine, to catch up with the rest of the world.