A revised National Public Health Bill is being drafted and is in the process of finalization by the Union government; it will likely be introduced in Parliament’s Monsoon Session. The proposed bill is supposed to replace the colonial-era law, i.e., the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 (EDA) implemented by the British administration. The EDA acts as India’s only act that outlines the framework for containment of numerous diseases and enables Union and State governments to carry out extraordinary measures. However, the EDA lacks effectiveness and authority since it doesn’t elaborate on the definition of an epidemic. Furthermore, it doesn’t have provisions for quarantine measures, vaccinations, and other precautionary actions.
Hence, the need arises for a central public health law to specify the state and union governments’ responsibilities in the event of a disease outbreak and address the planning and surveillance shortcomings observed during Covid-19. Holistic public health legislation is the need of the hour to make decision-making transparent and effective.