NEW DELHI: The allocation to health sector has been welcomed by major health care centres across the country The budget adopts a community-centric approach, prioritizing the needs of the “Garib” (Poor), “Mahilayen” (Women), “Yuva” (Youth), and “Annadata” (Farmer). A significant and positive development for the healthcare industry is the Union Budget’s emphasis on reducing the cost of medications, particularly for cancer patients. The Central government has designated Rs 89,287 crore for the development, maintenance, and enhancement of India’s healthcare system, a slight increase from Rs 88,956 crore in FY24.
Reacting over the budget Dr Shyam Aggarwal , Chairman , Medical Oncology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said ” All imported life saving drugs are costly and customs duty exemption is welcome step. Cancer drugs are very expensive and life saving. Patients require long term treatment. All steps to bring the cost down are more than welcome. Deruxtecan drug is breast cancer drug and can be used in all cancers with Her2 positive gene Osimertinib Is lung cancer drug for egfr mutation Durvalumab Is drug for lung and biliary tract cancers. All these cancers are quite common in India and detected in late stages in our Country.”
Meanwhile Dr. Harsh Mahajan, Founder & Chairman, Mahajan Imaging &Labs and Chairman FICCI Health Services Committee said “Exemption of three life saving medicines for cancer treatment is a welcome step. We will need to study the fine print to know what these drugs are. Exemption of customs duty on components of Xray tubes and digital detectors, will lead to spurring of indigenous manufacturing of digital Xray machines in India. Allocation of funds for innovation and skilling will also help those who are working in the healtcare sector”
“We commend the government’s commitment to improving healthcare, as highlighted in the Union Budget 2024. The changes in Basic Customs Duty (BCD) for X-ray tubes and flat panel detectors used in X-ray machines under the phased manufacturing program are highly appreciated. Synchronizing these changes with domestic capacity addition will bolster our diagnostic capabilities and promote the growth of the domestic medical device industry. These measures reflect a comprehensive strategy to enhance India’s healthcare infrastructure and patient care” said Mr. Behram Khodaiji, CEO of Ruby Hall Clinic on the Union Budget
Having similar views on Union budget Dr. Vaibhav Kapoor, Co-founder, Pristyn Care reacted on the budget stating that “The Union Budget for 2024-25 is a positive growth step and we welcome it wholeheartedly. We are glad to see that efforts have been made to back education and skills development such as by revising the Model Skill Loan Scheme enabling 25,000 students per annum and giving E-vouchers for loans up to Rs 10 lakh to one lakh students yearly. The new package announced today includes five schemes with a budget of Rs 2 lakh crore aimed at generating employment opportunities and enhancing skill levels of 4.1 crores youth over the next five years. In addition, this year’s allotment of Rs 1.48 lakh crore towards education, employment and skilling demonstrates strong commitment in these areas. These will help young people to have better education, improve the education system through investing heavily in it and create many job opportunities. This whole approach will make our future brighter, healthier and more prosperous for everybody.
