evidence: Dr Shetty said developing countries made an error by prioritising malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV in their government health policies. He said while these diseases cause 1.2 million to 2 million deaths annually, the lack of access to safe surgery results in 17 million deaths worldwide. "If our government looked at offering surgery to all as a national strategy, there would have been a magical shift in the way the public health care ran," he said. He said insurance is the way to go for large countries like India. He said free healthcare has worked in some small countries, with populations not exceeding 5 to 10 million. These countries, he said, also have a high tax-to-GDP ratio of 25% to 45%, and they spend 18-20% of their GDP on healthcare. India, he said, has a tax-to-GDP ratio of only around 11%, and spends less than 2% on healthcare. For these reasons, he said, the way to ensure healthcare for all is to find ways to have affordable insurance. On the hospital chain’s expansion plans, Dr Shetty said a greenfield hospital in Kolkata is in the works. The first phase of the project, which will have 350 beds, will cost Rs 500 crore. Upon completion, the hospital will have 1,000 beds.