This article introduces a Series in The Lancet in which Srinath Reddy and colleagues call for universal health-care coverage in India, and outline why the development of national health provision is both timely and necessary. Without question, India has reached the right point in time to undertake universal health-care coverage, a move that is likely to improve national development. However, as outlined in several papers in this Series, issues of gender inequity remain in India and impede the nation’s public health and development.