Updated: August 2026 · GS-II Polity & Social Justice
Article 47 Nutrition, Public Health and Prohibition
Article 47 uses a phrase found nowhere else in Part IV: it directs the State to regard nutrition, the standard of living and public health as among its primary duties. Every other Directive Principle asks the State to "strive" or "endeavour"; Article 47 elevates three objectives to the status of primary duty. Its second half carries the Gandhian prohibition clause — an endeavour to prohibit intoxicating drinks and injurious drugs, except for medicinal purposes.
The formulation
"Primary duties"
Amendment
Never amended
Ayushman Arogya Mandirs
Over 1.86 lakh
Launched 2 Aug 2026
Nasha Mukt Yuva Abhiyan
Article 47 — Bare Text
Explanation — Four Objectives, Two Standards
Article 47 · Four Objectives
1 · Level of nutrition
Raising nutritional levels — the constitutional anchor for the entire food security and nutrition apparatus.
2 · Standard of living
The broadest of the four — housing, water, sanitation, energy and income together.
3 · Public health
Improvement of public health — a population-level obligation, not merely individual medical care.
4 · Prohibition
Prohibition of the consumption of intoxicating drinks and injurious drugs, except for medicinal purposes.
📌 The most important reading point — two different standards in one sentence
Article 47 contains two verbs of different strength, and mixing them up is the commonest error.
For the first three objectives: the State "shall regard" them "as among its primary duties". This is the strongest formulation anywhere in Part IV — stronger than Article 38's "shall strive", Article 43's "shall endeavour" and Article 41's "within the limits of its economic capacity".
For prohibition alone: "the State shall endeavour to bring about prohibition". The weaker verb attaches only to the fourth objective.
So: nutrition, standard of living and public health are primary duties; prohibition is only an endeavour.
Reading the prohibition clause precisely
Consumption
The Article targets consumption, not manufacture, sale or possession as such. States regulate those through excise laws under Entry 8 of the State List — intoxicating liquors, including production, manufacture, possession, transport, purchase and sale.
Except
medicinal
medicinal
The medicinal exception is written into the Constitution itself. Article 47 does not seek abolition of alcohol and drugs as substances — only of their consumption as intoxicants.
Drugs
"Drugs which are injurious to health" — the constitutional basis for the NDPS Act, 1985 and for the entire narcotics and drug-demand-reduction framework, not merely for alcohol policy.
Classification and constitutional context
- Article 47 is grouped among the Gandhian Directive Principles — alongside Articles 40, 43, 43B, 46 and 48 — because of the prohibition limb, which reflects Gandhi's lifelong campaign against liquor.
- Public health and sanitation is Entry 6 of the State List; intoxicating liquors is Entry 8. Prohibition is therefore a State subject — which is why India has a patchwork of State policies rather than a national law.
- Read with Article 21, Article 47 has produced an enforceable right to health; and with Articles 39(e), 41, 42 and 43, the worker's right to occupational health.
Amendment to Article 47
None
Article 47 has never been amended. Its text stands exactly as adopted on 26 November 1949 and commenced on 26 January 1950 — the prohibition clause included, despite periodic debate about its continued relevance.
Judicial Interpretation
Art. 47 (DPSP)
Non-justiciable + Art. 21 right to life
with dignity → Right to health becomes
an enforceable Fundamental Right
Non-justiciable + Art. 21 right to life
with dignity → Right to health becomes
an enforceable Fundamental Right
A. The public health limb
| Case | Holding |
|---|---|
| Municipal Council, Ratlam v. Vardichand (1980) | A municipality pleaded lack of funds to justify failure to provide drainage and sanitation. Justice Krishna Iyer held that a statutory public duty cannot be defeated by budgetary excuses, and enforced it through Section 133 of the CrPC. Article 47 was invoked to hold that public health is the municipality's primary duty, not a discretionary function. |
| Vincent Panikurlangara v. Union of India (1987) | A PIL seeking a ban on harmful and banned drugs. The Court held that maintenance and improvement of public health is among the State's primary duties under Article 47, and that the right to health is integral to a meaningful right to life under Article 21. |
| CESC Ltd. v. Subhash Chandra Bose (1992) and Consumer Education & Research Centre v. Union of India (1995) | Established the worker's right to health as part of Article 21, read with Articles 39(e), 41, 43 and 47 — including occupational health surveillance and medical care during and after service. |
| Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity v. State of West Bengal (1996) | A man with serious head injuries was refused admission by several government hospitals. The Court held that a government hospital's failure to provide timely emergency medical treatment violates Article 21, and that financial constraint is no defence to the State's obligation to run an adequate health service. |
| Murli S. Deora v. Union of India (2001) | The Supreme Court prohibited smoking in public places — hospitals, educational institutions, public offices, libraries and public transport — holding that non-smokers cannot be compelled to suffer the health consequences of others' smoking, citing Article 21 read with Article 47. This directly preceded the enactment of COTPA, 2003. |
B. The prohibition limb
| Case | Holding |
|---|---|
| State of Bombay v. F. N. Balsara (1951) | The first major test of the Bombay Prohibition Act. The Court upheld most of the Act as a valid exercise of State power referable to Article 47, while striking down certain provisions — notably those extending to medicinal and toilet preparations containing alcohol, since Article 47's own medicinal exception could not be ignored. A leading authority on severability. |
| Khoday Distilleries Ltd. v. State of Karnataka (1995) | Held there is no fundamental right to trade in intoxicating liquor under Article 19(1)(g). Liquor is res extra commercium — outside ordinary commerce — and the State may prohibit or regulate it entirely, or create a monopoly, relying on Article 47. |
| Kerala Bar Hotels Association v. State of Kerala (2015) | Upheld Kerala's policy confining bar licences to five-star hotels. The Court held the classification reasonable and observed that Article 47 supports a State policy of progressive restriction, since a citizen has no right to insist on the sale of liquor. |
| State of Tamil Nadu v. K. Balu (2016) | Directed a ban on liquor vends within 500 metres of national and State highways, relying on Article 47 and on road-safety data linking drunk driving to fatalities. In a 2017 clarification the Court exempted areas within municipal limits, substantially narrowing the direction's practical effect. |
Public health is not an item of expenditure to be deferred until funds permit. Article 47 places it among the State's primary duties — and a primary duty is not discharged by pleading a decrepit budget. — The reasoning in Municipal Council, Ratlam v. Vardichand (1980), paraphrased
📌 Prohibition across States — the current map
Because liquor is a State subject, policy varies widely. Gujarat has had prohibition since 1960; Bihar imposed total prohibition under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016; Nagaland, Mizoram (with periodic reversals) and Lakshadweep also restrict or prohibit. Kerala attempted phased prohibition and then reversed course.
In a Mains answer, note both sides: prohibition States report reduced domestic violence and household expenditure shifts, but also face bootlegging, hooch tragedies, enforcement burden on the courts and prisons, and substantial excise revenue loss. This is a policy question on which the Constitution states a direction but leaves the method to the States.
Government Schemes Implementing Article 47
A. Nutrition
| Scheme | Content |
|---|---|
| Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 | The umbrella nutrition mission, merging POSHAN Abhiyaan (2018), Anganwadi Services and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls. Covers supplementary nutrition, growth monitoring and the Poshan Tracker. |
| National Food Security Act, 2013 and PMGKAY | Legal entitlement to subsidised foodgrain for up to two-thirds of the population, with free grain under PMGKAY — the statutory floor of the nutrition obligation. |
| PM POSHAN | Hot cooked mid-day meals in government and government-aided schools, linking nutrition to school attendance. |
| Anaemia Mukt Bharat and rice fortification | Six-pronged anaemia strategy across the life cycle, and universal supply of fortified rice through the Public Distribution System, PM POSHAN and ICDS. |
| Eat Right India and FSSAI standards | Food safety, front-of-pack labelling, trans-fat elimination and Eat Right Campus initiatives — the preventive side of nutrition. |
| Mothers' Absolute Affection (MAA) and Vitamin A supplementation | Breastfeeding promotion, lactation management centres and micronutrient supplementation. |
B. Public health
| Scheme | Content |
|---|---|
| Ayushman Bharat — Ayushman Arogya Mandirs | Comprehensive primary health care through upgraded sub-centres and PHCs, delivering twelve packages covering preventive, promotive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative services. Over 1.86 lakh operational as of 2026. |
| Ayushman Bharat — PM Jan Arogya Yojana | ₹5 lakh annual family cover for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation, with 36,081 hospitals empanelled. Extended in 2024 to all persons aged 70 and above irrespective of income, through the Ayushman Vay Vandana Card. |
| PM-ABHIM — PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (2021) | Outlay of ₹64,180 crore for critical care blocks, block public health units, integrated public health labs and disease surveillance — the pandemic-preparedness response. |
| National Health Mission (NRHM 2005, NUHM 2013) | Free Drugs and Free Diagnostics initiatives, National Ambulance Services, Mobile Medical Units, the ASHA programme, PM National Dialysis Programme and 24×7 services. |
| National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases | 770 District NCD Clinics, 524 Day Care Cancer Centres, 233 Cardiac Care Units and 6,410 CHC NCD Clinics — reflecting India's epidemiological shift towards NCDs. |
| Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and U-WIN | ABHA health accounts, digital health records and the digitised Universal Immunisation Programme registry. |
| Elimination programmes | Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan with Ni-kshay Mitra and Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana, plus kala-azar, leprosy and malaria elimination drives. |
| Tele-MANAS and the National Tele Mental Health Programme | 24×7 tele-mental-health support — recognising mental health as part of public health. |
| Jan Aushadhi (PMBJP) | Affordable generic medicines through Jan Aushadhi Kendras, reducing out-of-pocket expenditure. |
C. Standard of living
- Swachh Bharat Mission — sanitation and open-defecation-free status, the largest single public health intervention of the period.
- Jal Jeevan Mission — functional household tap connections, addressing waterborne disease at source.
- PM Awas Yojana (Gramin and Urban) — housing.
- PM Ujjwala Yojana — LPG connections, reducing household air pollution and its respiratory burden.
- National Clean Air Programme — ambient air quality, read with Article 48A.
D. Prohibition and drug demand reduction
| Instrument | Content |
|---|---|
| NDPS Act, 1985 | The principal law on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, giving statutory effect to Article 47's reference to drugs injurious to health. |
| COTPA, 2003 | Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act — prohibition of smoking in public places, advertising bans, pictorial health warnings and restrictions on sale to minors. Traceable directly to Murli S. Deora (2001). |
| Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (2020) | Nationwide drug-demand-reduction campaign combining awareness, community outreach, treatment through Addiction Treatment Facilities and de-addiction centres, and capacity building. |
| Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan | Launched by the Prime Minister on 2 August 2026 — a 100-week nationwide Jan Bhagidari campaign against substance abuse, with weekly Sunday activities including sports events, walkathons, meditation sessions, street plays and awareness drives, bringing together educational institutions, youth organisations, civil society and industry. |
| NAPDDR | National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction — the umbrella framework of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. |
| State excise and prohibition laws | Under Entry 8 of the State List — including the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 and Gujarat's long-standing prohibition regime. |
Key Figures
1.86 lakh+Ayushman Arogya Mandirs operational nationwide, delivering comprehensive primary health care
36,081Hospitals empanelled under AB-PMJAY, which provides ₹5 lakh annual family cover
₹64,180 crOutlay of PM-ABHIM, with the Budget 2026–27 allocation raised sharply over the previous year
1.8% of GDPPublic spending on health — against the National Health Policy 2017 target of 2.5%
39%Share of out-of-pocket expenditure in total health expenditure — the sharpest single indicator of the gap
100 weeksDuration of the Nasha Mukt Yuva Jan Bhagidari campaign launched on 2 August 2026
Persistent Challenges
- Public health spending. At about 1.8% of GDP, expenditure remains below the 2.5% target set by the National Health Policy 2017 — a gap that sits uneasily with the words "primary duties".
- Out-of-pocket expenditure at roughly 39% of total health spending continues to push households into poverty, despite insurance expansion.
- The triple burden of malnutrition — undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency and rising obesity — now coexist, requiring different policy instruments simultaneously.
- Human resources. Shortfalls of specialists at Community Health Centres and uneven distribution of doctors between States and between rural and urban areas.
- The NCD transition. Non-communicable diseases now account for the larger share of the disease burden, but the system was built around communicable disease and maternal health.
- Prohibition's contested record. Total prohibition has produced illicit liquor deaths, heavy case loads on courts and police, and significant excise revenue loss — while partial measures are criticised as ineffective. The evidence does not point uniformly in one direction.
- Federal division. Public health and liquor are State subjects, so national targets depend on State capacity and political will.
- Data currency. Nutrition and health targeting still relies substantially on survey rounds rather than a current Census.
Article 47 at a Glance — Mind Map
Article 47 · Health & Prohibition
Three primary dutiesLevel of nutrition · standard of living · improvement of public health
One endeavourProhibition of consumption of intoxicating drinks and injurious drugs — except for medicinal purposes
The verb test"Shall regard… as among its primary duties" — the strongest formulation in Part IV; "endeavour" applies only to prohibition
AmendmentNever amended
ClassificationGandhian DPSP · Entry 6 (public health) and Entry 8 (intoxicating liquors), State List
Health casesRatlam Municipality (1980) · Vincent Panikurlangara (1987) · Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity (1996) · Murli Deora (2001)
Liquor casesBalsara (1951) · Khoday Distilleries (1995) res extra commercium · Kerala Bar Hotels (2015) · K. Balu (2016)
Health schemesAyushman Arogya Mandirs · PM-JAY · PM-ABHIM ₹64,180 cr · NHM · NP-NCD · Tele-MANAS · Jan Aushadhi
Nutrition & prohibitionPoshan 2.0 · NFSA 2013 · PM POSHAN · Anaemia Mukt Bharat · NDPS 1985 · COTPA 2003 · Nasha Mukt Yuva 2026
Prelims Traps to Guard Against
- Article 47 has never been amended.
- "Primary duties" applies to nutrition, standard of living and public health — not to prohibition, which is only an "endeavour".
- The prohibition clause targets consumption, with an express exception for medicinal purposes written into the Constitution.
- Article 47 covers drugs injurious to health as well as intoxicating drinks — it is not confined to alcohol.
- Article 47 is a Gandhian principle, not a Socialistic or Liberal-Intellectual one.
- Public health and sanitation is Entry 6 of the State List; intoxicating liquors is Entry 8. Prohibition is a State subject.
- Khoday Distilleries (1995) held there is no fundamental right to trade in liquor — it is res extra commercium.
- Balsara (1951) struck down the application of prohibition to medicinal and toilet preparations, and is a leading authority on severability.
- The highway liquor ban in K. Balu (2016) was 500 metres, and was modified in 2017 to exempt areas within municipal limits.
- Murli S. Deora (2001) preceded COTPA, 2003 — the judicial ban on public smoking came first.
- The National Health Policy 2017 target is 2.5% of GDP; actual public health spending is around 1.8%.
Mains Angle
Question (GS-II, 15 marks, 250 words): "Article 47 places public health among the State's primary duties, yet India's public health expenditure remains among the lowest for a major economy." Examine the constitutional mandate under Article 47 and India's performance against it.
Structure the answer around three pivots:
- The constitutional mandate and its unusual strength.
Article 47 requires the State to regard nutrition, standard of living and public health as among its primary duties — the strongest formulation in Part IV, in contrast with "strive" and "endeavour" elsewhere.
"Endeavour" attaches only to the prohibition clause, which targets consumption with a medicinal exception.
Though non-justiciable, it has been read into Article 21 — Vincent Panikurlangara (1987), Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity (1996) — to create an enforceable right to health, and Ratlam Municipality (1980) held that budgetary constraint is no defence to a primary duty. - What has been built.
Health: 1.86 lakh+ Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, AB-PMJAY with ₹5 lakh cover and 36,081 empanelled hospitals, extended to all 70+ in 2024; PM-ABHIM (₹64,180 crore); NHM; NP-NCD; Tele-MANAS.
Nutrition: Poshan 2.0, NFSA 2013, PM POSHAN, Anaemia Mukt Bharat, rice fortification.
Standard of living: Swachh Bharat, Jal Jeevan Mission, Ujjwala.
Prohibition: NDPS 1985, COTPA 2003, Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan and the Nasha Mukt Yuva campaign launched 2 August 2026. - The performance gap.
Public health spending at about 1.8% of GDP against the 2.5% target of the National Health Policy 2017.
Out-of-pocket expenditure at roughly 39% of total health spending — the clearest measure of unfinished business.
The triple burden of malnutrition, the NCD transition, specialist shortfalls at CHCs, and the federal division that makes health and liquor State subjects.
On prohibition, note the contested evidence — reduced household harm against bootlegging, hooch tragedies, enforcement burden and revenue loss.
Conclusion: Article 47's language is unusually demanding, and the constitutional argument for higher health spending rests on it: a primary duty is not something to be funded from what remains after other claims. The measurable test of compliance is not the number of schemes but the fall in out-of-pocket expenditure — which is where the Article's promise is finally kept or broken.
Key Takeaways
- Article 47 directs the State to regard the raising of the level of nutrition, the standard of living and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties — the strongest formulation anywhere in Part IV — and, in particular, to endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption of intoxicating drinks and injurious drugs, except for medicinal purposes.
- The two verbs are different in strength: "primary duties" for the first three objectives; "endeavour" only for prohibition. Article 47 has never been amended, and is classified as a Gandhian Directive Principle.
- Read with Article 21, it has produced an enforceable right to health — Vincent Panikurlangara (1987), Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity (1996) — and in Municipal Council, Ratlam v. Vardichand (1980) the Court held that lack of funds is no defence to a primary public health duty.
- On liquor: Balsara (1951) upheld prohibition but not its application to medicinal preparations; Khoday Distilleries (1995) held there is no fundamental right to trade in liquor; K. Balu (2016) ordered a 500-metre highway ban, modified in 2017 to exempt municipal areas. Liquor is a State subject — Entry 8, State List.
- Implementation runs through Poshan 2.0, NFSA 2013, PM POSHAN and Anaemia Mukt Bharat on nutrition; 1.86 lakh+ Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, AB-PMJAY (₹5 lakh cover, 36,081 hospitals, extended to all 70+ in 2024), PM-ABHIM (₹64,180 crore) and the NHM on health.
- On prohibition and drugs: the NDPS Act 1985, COTPA 2003, Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (2020) and the Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan, launched on 2 August 2026 as a 100-week Jan Bhagidari campaign. The performance gap remains: public health spending near 1.8% of GDP against a 2.5% target, with out-of-pocket expenditure around 39%.
