Budget reaction: Dr BS Ajaikumar, Executive Chairman, HealthCare Global Enterprises (HCG)  

India is in dire need of Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC), which was not well articulated in the finance minister’s budget today. It is good to see that we are spending Rs 35,000 crore (over $4.79 billion) on the COVID-19 vaccine. The proposed budget of Rs 64,180 crore invested over six years to healthcare ($8.79 billion) is not substantial in my purview. The overall spending should have been much more because we started from a very low base post COVID. The government spending only one and a half per cent of the GDP so far on healthcare is insufficient. While it is good to focus on preventive healthcare and wellness clinics, the government’s intention on cooperating with the private sector is still unclear. A cess similar to education cess could have been created in healthcare to bring uniformity through UHC. Overall, I am glad to see some spends directed towards healthcare, but it is not substantial, especially considering that we are battling the effects of COVID-19.