2018 Budget Expectations from Kamal Solanki, CEO, Venkateshwar Hospitals and Chairman, Venkateshwar Group of Schools

It is expected that health will gain more importance this time.  Presently, the public health expenditure is around 0.3% of GDP, with the rest being out of pocket spending on healthcare. There is dire need for this scenario to change. Although government has the objective of increasing public expenditure to 2.5% of GDP over a period of time, but this needs to be achieved sooner than later. Primary health centers and community health centres are underperforming. The number of these centers need to be increased and existing centers need to be upgraded with staff and service both. In addition, we are hoping for policies and allocation which will further engage tertiary care providers in more places and enabling opening of more facilities. Private and public partnership is essential for healthcare penetration in the interiors of India, especially for tertiary care.