For those who can access the New York Times online, excellent article comparing the growth of China and the growth of India.

Excerpt: Inequality is high in both countries, but China has done far more than India to raise life expectancy, expand general education and secure health care for its people. India has elite schools of varying degrees of excellence for the privileged, but among all Indians 7 or older, nearly one in every five males and one in every three females are illiterate. And most schools are of low quality; less than half the children can divide 20 by 5, even after four years of schooling.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/opinion/why-india-trails-china.html?ref=global-home

I don't know much about India but I have had first hand evidence that China has a pretty passable health service. Recently{over past year) my wife's parents have been forced to quit their migrant worker lifestyle and return home to their village near Yuncheng, because the husband/father fell ill with lung and liver problems. He had to be admitted to hospital for a good while. it was necessary to get loans from fellow villagers to pay for his treatment; however, the government does reimburse the full amount of the treatment upon receipt of the bills. The government also paid for a blood pressure machine so as he could record his own blood pressure and pulse rate. He has rallied so well to his treatment that he has been farming the land they have- unfortunately Yuncheng area has had more than its fair share of rain this year and that ruined the crop.