Is The Recent Budget Hike For Health Sector Enough to Boost Development in the Sector?

In the recent budget announcement FM Nirmala Sitharaman increased the health allocation budget to 12.9 percent allocating Rs. 90,958.63 crores to the Union Health Ministry. Of this Rs. 87, 656.90 crore is allocated to the health and family welfare department and Rs. 3,301.73 to the health research department. The allocation for the previous year was Rs. 80,517.62 crores.

The allocation for Indian Institutes of Medical Sciences, Delhi has been increased from 4,278 crores to Rs. 4,523.

The government has also announced custom duty exemption on three major cancer drugs and reduced the duty rates on X-ray tubes and flat panel detectors. However, experts believe that two aspects of healthcare were neglected – the rise in obesity and the mental health crisis. This was cited in a report from the Indian Council for Medical Research.