Experts give their reactions over Union Budget 2022-23
The union budget created a blueprint for India’s sustainable development and laid a vision for India @100 years. For the healthcare sector, the budget emphasised creating an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem, consisting of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities. Further, the government’s focus on digitisation in healthcare should give rise to the integration of digital technologies such as AI/ML in equipment and digital data management. In the long run, it will bridge the gap between physicians and patients or between two physicians, especially in remote areas. However, the medical devices industry was looking forward to some crucial reforms to encourage Make in India efforts for affordable healthcare at these times of the pandemic. In that respect, this budget has given very confusing signals. The diagnostic industry especially was hopeful that the government would announce an increase in the PLI for the industry from the current insignificant rate of 3-5 per cent to 15 per cent.
— Suresh Vazirani, Founder Chairman, Transasia-Erba International Group of Companies
The budget has most welcomingly prioritised the digitalisation of healthcare services (Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission), along with a greater focus on the mental health crisis (National Tele Mental Health Programme). ABDM aims at developing an open platform that will list “digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity, consent framework, and universal access to health facilities. Further, NTMHP will provide better access and affordability to quality mental health counselling, through a network of 23 tele-mental health centres backed by NIMHANS and IIT Bengaluru. But even though there has been a greater push towards these vital avenues, the budget brought disappointment in aspects of other essential services like domestic manufacturing of medical devices. It is our ‘Swadeshi’ manufacturing, after all, that constitutes a crucial cog in the wheels of self-reliance, as was pretty evident during the previous COVID-19 crises. The disappointment further ensued with lesser than anticipated, overall spending allocated to healthcare, which remains fundamental in infrastructural development of the same.
— Dr Lalitha Reddy – Vice President, Telemedicine Society of India
The diagnostics industry has been ignored in the new budget. There is a deep sense of disappointment at no significant allocation of additional funds to boost India’s healthcare infrastructure. The diagnostic equipment manufacturing industry continues to bear a heavy tax burden, as there is no reduction in customs and excise duty and tax exemptions on imports for an industry that is heavily dependent on imports (86 per cent). The launch of an open platform for a National Digital Health Ecosystem, a focus on building domestic capacities by encouraging public-private partnership, and the promotion of R&D to provide universal access to health facilities for all, is, however, a welcome move.
— Dr Angeli Misra (MD Path), Founder & Director, Lifeline Laboratory
Persons with disabilities have been the hardest hit by the pandemic and at times like these, inclusive budgeting was the need of the hour. The new tax relief for parents/guardian of a person with a disability is a step forward towards a better and more inclusive world.
— RN Mohanty, CEO, Sightsavers India
It’s great news that the Government’s Health Insurance, Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna will be implementing the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. This will help us build a robust database of not just government hospitals but also laboratories, pharmacies, and radiology centres. With promises to bolster our consent framework and access to healthcare facilities, we are working towards an ambitious yet pertinent goal – an improved universal healthcare system.
— Aniruddha Sen, Co-Founder, Kenko Health
The planned increase in capital expenditure is likely to boost economic growth and employment. There is a thrust on macro-areas like digital, VC-ecosystem, ease of doing business and supportive measures for R&D and industry-academia collaboration with pharma included in the sunrise sectors. The extension time limit for the commencement of business to claim benefits of concessional tax regime for manufacturing companies has been extended by a year to March 31, 2024. This will support the investment in pharma manufacturing.
— Sudarshan Jain, Secretary-General, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance
The Union Budget 2022 moves to address the pressing needs with announcements that will act as an emollient not just for the economy but also the people. The budget with its digital push in education and skilling for all shows that it has its heart in the right place. With digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identifier for each individual will help to provide universal access to health facilities. Along with the national tele-mental health programme, this shows the enhanced focus on health.
— Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group
The government’s move towards addressing the mental health crisis is welcoming as it helps bring society back to normal. With so much stigma associated with mental health, launching an open platform will also help bring widespread awareness about the importance of being vocal of any issues on mental health. Government must spend at least 10 per cent of the GDP on health and further make strict norms for the medical education sector.
— Dr Jagadish Hiremath, Chairman, Aasra Hospital
We see budget 2022 as a positive step in the right direction for the healthcare sector with the rollout of the National Digital Health Ecosystem which is an open platform, consisting of digital registries of health providers and health facilities. Unique health identity and universal access to health facilities, with the National Tele Mental Health programme, will go a long way towards ensuring better healthcare and treatment options.
— Dr Tausif Ahmed Thangalvadi, Medical Director, NURA
This budget is capex driven and growth-focussed with a strong aspiration for industrial self-reliance and particularly drive on capital goods. Efficient and time-bound implementation will be the key success factor for sustained economic development. After the impactful experience of the pandemic, we hope the push on infrastructure boost would cover the healthcare sector in enabling and accelerating healthcare facilities to enhance availability, accessibility and affordability of good healthcare for all with an adequate level of quality. Focus on building a digital health ecosystem, universal access to health facilities and plans for mental health counselling through a National Tele Mental Health Program are encouraging ideas based on learnings from the pandemic.
— Anjan Bose, Founder Secretary-General of NATHEALTH
The Union Budget 2022 is a testimony of the technology-enabled wherewithal that India@75 has achieved. Higher allocation to the MSME sector, start-ups and the PLI Scheme will give a subsequent push to infrastructure development, which is a major driver of growth for India. The mental health and digital health push along with the One-Nation-One Registration towards Ease of Doing Business and Compliance are some of the positive steps that will again propel growth in the long term. Further, the announcement on Public Procurement by allowing 75 per cent prompt payments and bringing in a weighted price preference on account of Quality which is especially critical in healthcare-related medical devices are welcoming. Overall, a balanced budget that looks at consistency, and focuses on Atmanirbhar Bharat with a digital and green growth lens.
— Ganesh Sabat, CEO, Sahajanand Medical Technologies
The Union Budget does not give any clear directions and has no blockbuster announcements. However, welcome measures such as the rollout of National Digital Health Ecosystem with digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities and exemption on certain medical devices and drugs and medicines for which sufficient domestic capacity exists ( fine print awaited to understand this better) are beneficial measures and would have far-reaching consequences for the healthcare sector in India.
— Harish Iyer, Head of Finance, Carestream India
There were expectations for more PLI-based schemes but an increase in cargo and a boost in supply chain infrastructure were much needed which were heavily fractured during the pandemic. Also, it will boost in enhancing productivity. They will be key to sustaining this momentum thus accelerating sectoral growth and consolidating India’s position within the global pharma value chain. It’s the right time to invest and increase production capacity for quantity and quality production.
— Siddharth Shah, Director, Bharat Rubber Works
The launch of the National Tele Mental Health Program is a welcome move by the government to augment the use of telemedicine services as well as provide support to people with mental health disorders. Also, an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem will be rolled out and it’ll further help in strengthening the healthcare services within the country. The increased investment towards Health Infrastructure and focus on a holistic approach to health is seen as a testimony of the commitment to building stronger health systems in the country.
— Vikram Thaploo, CEO Apollo Telehealth
A well structured and forward-looking budget encompassing all sectors and detailed steps for implementation. Healthcare and well-being has received top priority in this budget. The rollout of the National Digital Health Ecosystem that will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities along with the national tele-mental health programme shows the government’s commitment towards improving and enhancing healthcare in India. As the future of manufacturing is driven by robotics and other automation technologies, we also appreciate the announcement of PLI schemes to create manufacturing global champions under AtmaNirbhar Bharat.
— Nikkhil K Masurkar, Executive Director, ENTOD Pharmaceuticals
While the government’s announcement in the budget 2022 to accelerate the country’s general infrastructure building including connectivity and logistics through Gatishakti would certainly catalyse the broader domestic manufacturing, it must also have positive spillover effects on the medical device segment. The continued policy support to MSMEs by way of extension of ECLGS scheme would also be beneficial to a large number of medical device makers who fall under the MSME category. At the same time, the budget highlighting the PLI scheme, in general, should also hold value for the medical device sector. The creation of a national digital health ecosystem with a focus on mental health would also lead to enhanced business activities.”
— Ashok Patel, CEO and Founder Max Ventilator
The Union Budget 2022-23 is curated to make some strong strides on the road to recovery, as the nation has fought a tough battle with COVID-19. The impetus was given to the healthcare sector in the form of announcing the National Digital Health Ecosystem which will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities. With the help of this digital ecosystem, the public can access higher quality healthcare facilities, as well as healthcare workers, can provide quality-driven service. This will also pave the way for additional digitization in the form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Software as a Service (SaaS) companies.
— Dr Suman Katragadda, Founder and CEO, HEAPS – AI Driven Health-Tech B2B SaaS Platform
The launch of an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem by the government in today’s Budget is a great step towards fast-tracking the adoption of digital health products and services. The ecosystem will comprise standardised registries of doctors and health facilities, unique health ID for each citizen and electronic health records, thereby enabling universal access to healthcare facilities. This announcement promises to empower India’s Digital Health Mission and thereby help customers navigate the healthcare system seamlessly.
— Yash Jain, BU Head- Docprime.com
We welcome the initiative with regards to the availability of the National Tele Mental Health Program. A thrust to facilitate the objective treatment packages covered by medical insurance in the field of mental health was something we expected in this budget. Disappointed that there has still been no increase in the healthcare budget as a proportion of GDP. Lastly, in view of the difficult times that the healthcare industry has faced in the last two years some support in terms of concessions in developing compliance infrastructure related to fire and other safety norms was expected.
Dr Vispi Jokhi, CEO, Masina Hospital, Byculla, Mumbai
The government has recognised the mental health crisis, exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic, in the Union Budget. The setting up of a national tele mental health programme is a welcome move and will go a long way in helping people of all ages to access quality mental health. Today, having a platform where people can voice their concerns freely, and safely is the first step towards mental wellness, and I am confident that with this, India will be able to bring about a much-needed change in society.
Neerja Birla, Founder and Chairperson, Mpower
The budget has set up a framework for digitising the healthcare ecosystem. The digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities will enhance healthcare delivery efficiency. The focus on strengthening mobile connectivity will eventually boost the adoption of telehealth and point-of-care diagnostics services.
— Dr Veeraal Gandhi, CMD, Voxtur Bio
The National Digital Health Ecosystem is a great step in the right direction. Dozee has always believed that the way to transform public healthcare is through simplification of training, adoption and leveraging smart technology to mitigate infrastructure demand to streamline and deliver universal healthcare in India. Our dream of Ayushman Bharat can only be achieved by a meaningful boost to Make in India’ and ease of doing business, to encourage indigenous innovation, production and investments- making India Atmanirbhar in its medical needs.
— Mudit Dandwate, CEO & Cofounder, Dozee
The overall focus of the Union Budget seemed to be aimed at achieving inclusive development and productivity enhancement by providing stimuli to sectors that are fundamentally critical for growth. The core framework of the budget was orchestrated around channelising infra led economic growth, protecting macros of agriculture and inducing digitalisation. From a medical industry perspective, strengthening of healthcare infrastructure, speedy vaccination programme implementation and nationwide resilient response to the current wave of COVID19 pandemic found prominent citations. The launch of the National Tele Mental Health programme will be instrumental in addressing the post effects of COVID by enabling quality mental healthcare counselling and care services in the country. Additionally, an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem will not only make the healthcare system more universal but also enable the industry stakeholders, especially insurance players to gain prudence from accessibility to data from digit registries.
— Raheel Shah, Director, BDR Group of Companies
The Union Budget 2022 is forward-looking with emphasis on mental healthcare. They have taken into consideration the increasing cases of mental health problems and have made provisions to offer quality counselling and care for people across all age groups. It will be beneficial to most of our elderly population post the pandemic. Another progressive move by the government is the launch of DESH-Stack eportal for skilling and reskilling citizens. This will address the current need to enhance the skills of existing healthcare workers.
— G Srinivasan, CEO, Athulya, Chennai
Digitalisation will greatly help in providing timely and meaningful access to healthcare facilities. National Digital Health Ecosystem will provide instantaneous details of appropriate health providers, the facilities offered and easy access to the same. Unique Health Identity will also enable ready availability of the past track record of an individual’s health and the medications used, thereby strengthening the entire health ecosystem, across the country. The government’s plan for a ‘National Tele Mental Health Programme’ is immensely laudable and will go a long way in assuaging the suffering of masses, even from long distances. While there could have been some more specific incentives for new innovations in the pharma sector, thereby encouraging the discovery of new drugs, overall the Budget seems to focus in the right direction
— Upendra Nath Sharma, Partner, J. Sagar Associates (JSA)
FICCI is pleased with the set of announcements that were made today, and we look forward to the implementation of the same by the central government in close coordination with the states. We appreciate the government for not being hemmed in by the neoclassical trap of fiscal conservatism and providing a very clear glide path for fiscal consolidation that is in sync with the economic realities. specific interventions are needed for incentivising research and development in sectors like healthcare, pharmaceuticals, greentech, biotech and futuristic areas like AI, ML, IoT etc. and we will continue to engage with the Government on these issues.
— Sanjiv Mehta, President, FICCI
We appreciate the move by the Finance Minister to create an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem. This will create a repository of all health data which will prove beneficial to track the incidence of various diseases, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This is the need of the hour as the incidence of mental illness has been on the rise in our country. For start-ups specifically, the existing tax benefits which were offered through the redemption of taxes for three consecutive years will be extended by one more year and this will surely provide an impetus for emerging entrepreneurs to participate in the growth of the economy at large.
Dheeraj Jain, Founder, Redcliffe Labs and Crysta IVF
We welcome the government’s initiative of a national tele-mental health programme and believe it’s a good starting point to normalise mental health conversations and seek help and access to universal health facilities. As a responsible insurer and a purpose-led brand, we strongly believe that mental health is as important as physical health and remain committed to educating our citizens and creating awareness on mental wellness.
— Anup Rau, MD and CEO, Future Generali India Insurance
“It’s great news that the government’s health insurance, Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna will be implementing the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. This will help us build a robust database of not just government hospitals but also laboratories, pharmacies, and radiology centres. With promises to bolster our consent framework and access to healthcare facilities, we are working towards an ambitious yet pertinent goal – improved universal healthcare system.”
— Aniruddha Sen, Co-Founder, Kenko Health
We were expecting a healthcare focussed budget with some specific interventions to the Make in India programme. However, digitalisation of mental health under Tele Mental Health programme is a big thumbs up to the government for recognising this need.
— Sahil Dharia- Founder and CEO, Soothe Healthcare
It is heartening that the Union Budget 2022 identifies genomics and pharmaceuticals as ‘sunrise’ sectors. This would enable well-rounded development beyond employment and access to enhanced industry efficiencies and competitiveness, which will go a long way in attracting increased investments in biopharmaceutical innovation. Our progress in R&D is inextricably linked to fostering a culture of innovation. Allowing for additional provisions towards establishing a stronger IPR ecosystem in the country is imperative to improve the Ease of Doing Index in India and further propel FDI in the pharmaceutical sector. The proposal to increase contribution towards the National Health Mission by Rs 2,853 crores reflects a continued emphasis on access to quality healthcare. While the emphasis on digital investments is encouraging, an integral component would also need to include healthcare infrastructure and medical skill building at all levels.
— Vani Manja, Country Managing Director, Boehringer Ingelheim India
In purely monetary terms there is no major outlay to the healthcare sector per se. The allocation as a percentage of the GDP doesn’t appear to have changed. The focus has continued to remain on aligning various other sectors to achieve public health goals. The development of public health infrastructure and the development of skilled healthcare professionals to meet the healthcare needs of the growing population of India doesn’t find a mention in the Budget. This is disappointing in a way as these were badly exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during the second wave. Budgetary allocation for the development of the National Digital ecosystem and National Tele Mental Health Program can be termed as positives. With regards to the private health sector, I don’t see any additional tax benefits or leeway being given by the government.
— Dr Dilip Kamat, Senior Medical Administrator, Amrita Hospital, Kochi
The Union Budget for 2022-23 will continue to accelerate economic growth through higher capital investment and lower inflation. Tax rates remaining unchanged despite likely challenges in fiscal targets is a very positive move to drive consumption and money in the hands of consumers. January GST collection is an indicator of buoyancy in economic growth. We were expecting a higher budget allocation for the pharma sector due to the aftereffects of the pandemic.
— V Ashok, Group CFO, ACG
Healthcare and infrastructure were the major focus of the budget 2022 and significant investment has been allocated for the expansion of roadways and logistics networks which will strengthen the nation. As we were expecting, start-ups were given keen importance in the budget. The ECLGS credit scheme guarantee cover has been expanded by Rs 50,000 crore, which will provide collateral-free loans to stressed-out MSMEs. The government has confirmed support for R&D expenditure, AI, genomics, etc. which is very encouraging. We shall wait for the right spirit in the implementation of all good plans in budget 2022.
— Raktim Chattopadhyay, Founder & CEO, Esperer Nutrition
At the outset the Union Budget 2022, the launch of National Tele Mental Health programme will better the access to quality mental health counselling which has accentuated mental health problems in people of all ages. There could have been a focus on primary healthcare centres and preventive healthcare diagnostics, which has become a necessity in the wake of the third wave. The Union Budget 2022 seems to have its sights set on the long term with a major push towards Digital Healthcare Ecosystem, and no major announcements or tax breaks that would have worked as an instant relief to the healthcare sector.
— Arjun Ananth, CEO, Medall Healthcare
The FM has presented a visionary budget for the healthcare sector. Mental health has been a long-unspoken issue that has been given its due importance with the launch of the National Tele Mental Health Program. The programme promises to benefit rural people from lower strata who cannot afford the necessary treatment, thereby reducing potential suicides and quashing the stigma around mental healthcare. Supporting the health tech startups, the National Digital Health Ecosystem will revolutionise the healthcare space, streamlining electronic medical records with the support of IoT-driven platforms. It will also enable medical professionals with accurate and immediate availability of data, in times of emergencies. The initiatives proposed are steps in the right direction, putting Indian healthcare at par with western healthcare.
— Nimith Agarwal, CEO, DoctCo
While there has been no significant announcement related to the diagnostics sector, it is encouraging to see the government focusing on the PPP model and digital health which will further ensure accessibility and availability of quality healthcare services in remote locations. We will continue to bring significant change in the diagnostics space with our continued investments in developing sophisticated diagnostics for early detection and outcome-based line of treatment for patients.
— Dinesh Chauhan, CEO, CORE Diagnostics
The upcoming launch of an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem is exciting news for us. It will include digital registries of health providers and facilities, a unique health identity, and universal access to health facilities, all of which will aid us in saving lives by allowing us access to contextual health information in quick time, enabling faster and better medical response in emergencies.
— Prabhdeep Singh, Founder and CEO, StanPlus
We are glad that the Budget this year focuses on strengthening the digital healthcare infrastructure with the rollout of open platforms for the National Digital Health Ecosystem. Facilities like digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health will fasten the procedures and help in fighting the pandemic at a greater speed
— Neeraj Gupta, Founder and CEO, Genes2Me
Union Budget 2022-23 has given healthcare a much-needed digital push. Rolling out an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem, setting up of National TeleHealth Mental Scheme, incentivising start-ups, which would include health, and ‘Drone Shakti’ are innovative ideas and in the right direction. The National Digital Health Ecosystem in the age of digitization and rollout of 5G technology would make healthcare accessible to the needs of over 1.4 billion population in India, many of whom were scared due to the pandemic. The digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities provided under the National Digital Health Ecosystem will provide access to healthcare digitally in the remotest of areas where even the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) are unavailable.
— Dr Satyender Goel, Founder & CEO – India Health Link (IHL)
Indian health sector has been navigating the pandemic by adapting fast and adopting digitisation. With Budget 2022, India may see a societal shift where our collective emotional and mental struggles through the pandemic may be addressed with greater acceptance. We may also see the advent of data-driven medicine and the end of disconnected storage of patient information.
But the wide-arching needs of the nation’s health need to be accorded much greater priority. Although allocation to healthcare has improved over the past two years since the pandemic, we still have a long road ahead of us in making quality healthcare affordable and accessible to the vulnerable masses.
— Ishiqa Multani, President- Sagar Group of Hospitals
The budget is silent on the increase in public expenditure on healthcare and the path to 2.5 per cent of the GDP spent on healthcare which is the much-needed reform path for this sector and enablement of healthcare access to India. However, the focus on digital healthcare with the National Digital Health Ecosystem is a welcome move that will include digital registries of health professionals and facilities, a unique health identity, and help strengthen the foundation of universal access to health care facilities. The announcement of a national telemedicine-led mental health programme with a network of 23 telemental health centres, with Nimhans serving as the nodal centres is also a step in the right direction. However, reform in paramedical education for faster enablement of clinical/paraclinical talent is still not addressed. While the FM led Budget 21 made healthcare a central subject, Budget 22 does lack continuity of that vision.
Vishal Bali, Executive Chairman, Asia Healthcare Holdings
The launch of the National Tele Mental Health programme will better access to quality mental health counselling which has accentuated mental health problems in people of all ages. There could have been a focus on primary healthcare centres and preventive healthcare diagnostics, which has become a necessity in the wake of the third wave. The Union Budget 2022 seems to have its sights set on the long term with a major push towards Digital Healthcare Ecosystem, and no major announcements or tax breaks that would have worked as an instant relief to the Healthcare sector. The much-anticipated goods and services tax (GST) streamlining and the introduction of input tax credit (ITC), if implemented, would’ve introduced the liquidity that the industry was hoping for.
— Arjun Ananth, CEO, Medall Healthcare
The announcement of the tele mental health sector is a wonderful move. It helps people access much-needed help, without being subject to the stigma that still surrounds mental health. Additionally, it also encourages the use of telehealth services and educates people further on potential access to quality healthcare, regardless of location.
—Shashank Saini, Founder and CEO, Medpho
Digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities under the National Digital Health Mission are positive steps towards enabling access to healthcare for the wider population. Similarly, we are glad that mental health and the challenges put forward by the pandemic are being tackled at a national level with the launch of the tele-mental Health programme. Upgrade of two lakh Anganwadis with better facilities will further enable the primary healthcare system and much-needed healthcare support in remote and rural areas.
— Dr Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman and Managing Director, Aster DM Healthcare
As expected, Budget 22-23 was a balanced effort to improve overall economic growth. Measures introduced in Budget 2022-23 will further strengthen the healthcare sector while focusing on prevailing challenges.The rollout of a National Digital Health Ecosystem will ensure that all segments of the society can access affordable and adequate healthcare seamlessly and efficiently. The launch of a National Tele Mental Health program can play a catalytic role in both normalising conversations around mental health as well as ensuring that people can seek support for mental health-related challenges.
— Dr GK Velu, CMD, Trivitron Healthcare and Neuberg Diagnostics
The high point of the budget is its focus on mental health. It shows the government’s commitment to creating a holistic health environment. The proposed national tele-mental health programme will create a supportive environment for people to talk about emotional issues they counter on a day-to-day basis and help remove the stigma that we have around mental and emotional problems. Also, the decision to create an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem is yet another move to digitise healthcare in the country which surely has a far-reaching impact on making quality healthcare accessible to all.
— Dr Harshit Jain, Founder and Global CEO, Doceree
We were expecting the government to move forward on promised reforms and anticipated conducive measures to boost domestic manufacturing of medical devices. It is frustrating that against our expectations, the government has not included any measures to help end the 80-85 per cent import dependence forced upon India and an ever-increasing import bill of over Rs 46000 crore and promoting growth Indian Medical Device industry other than repeating last year’s assurance to end custom exemptions of products that can be made in India. Sadly the union budget 2022 speech has no strategic stated measures to boost domestic manufacturing. These are the same domestic manufacturers, when imports got disrupted during COVID-19 crisis, the government relied heavily on them to meet the rising demand of essential covid items for the country pushing the Indian medical devices sector to become self-reliant. The only positive announcement was on Public Procurement by allowing 75% prompt payments and bringing in a weighted price preference on account of Quality which is especially critical in healthcare related medical devices.
— Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator, AiMeD
The budget has just focussed on mental health and the digitisation of the healthcare sector. Budget 22-23 seems very disappointing for the healthcare sector. India’s growth is estimated to be at 9.27 per cent and healthcare will play a major role in the boost. Strengthening of health infrastructure, speedy vaccination programme implementation has strengthened the Indian healthcare system. The decision to start an open platform for the national digital health ecosystem is a welcome move. The announcement of launching the national tele mental health programme which will include a network of 23 telemedicine mental health centres of excellence is a much appreciative move that the government has decided. Overall, the proposals made in Budget 22-23, should have made quality healthcare accessible and affordable. The government should have focussed more on primary healthcare investment and made the Healthcare system as National Priority’ status, as was done for the IT sector.
— Dr Alok Roy, Member, FICCI, Health Services Committee and Chairman Medica Group of Hospitals
We welcome the budget’s focus to implement a ‘National Tele Mental Health Programme’ to address the mental health problems and provide counselling & care services. This will create more awareness and also open more avenues in the overall health & wellbeing of an individual. Additionally, the budget aims to roll out a National Digital Health Ecosystem which comes in as a blessing for the public where digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity, consent framework, and universal access to health facilities will be made available.
— Dr Alok Khullar, CEO, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai
The need to pay attention to one’s mental health has been well addressed in the budget where allocation of funds to set up a ‘National Tele Mental Health Programme’ is proposed. This move will create more awareness among the public and the need to prioritise mental health and overall wellbeing. The overall impetus towards primary healthcare and public healthcare is a welcomed initiative. This is a visionary budget with long term unprecedented infra spending. This provides impetus to all sectors due to the ripple effect. The allocation of funds for healthcare, being a core infra sector, could have however been better.
— Dr CJ Vetrievel – Founder CMD, Be Well Hospitals, Chennai
Launching the National Tele Mental Health programme under the expert guidance of NIMHANS as the nodal organisation is another extension of the digital health mission while improving the quality of life of citizens. The extension time limit for the commencement of business to claim benefits of concessional tax regime for manufacturing companies has been extended by a year to March 31, 2024. This will support the investment in pharma manufacturing.
— Samir Mehta, Chairman, Torrent Group
The announcement of an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem which will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities is a welcome move. We are happy that a national tele mental health programme for counselling is also being announced today. We are also hopeful that the announcement of Rs 64,180 crore (Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission) will help strengthen capacities of primary, secondary, and tertiary Health Care Systems, including existing national institutions, and create new institutions to cater to the detection and cure of new and emerging diseases.
— Dr Roy K George, National President, The Trained Nurses Association of India (TNAI)
