Health sector to benefit from focus on public healthcare

Deduction limit has been increased for Section 80TTA and Section 80TTB of the Income Tax Act.

With Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman announcing plans to set up more medical colleges and improve healthcare, good days may be in the offing for Indian healthcare companies. Allocation for public healthcare has been increased to Rs 90,171 crore in FY24-25, up from Rs 79,221 crore in FY23-24.

The Finance Minister said that the government will launch a programme to promote cervical cancer vaccination among girls aged 9 to 14, which industry observers said augurs well for vaccine makers.

“I applaud the Indian government's announcement to vaccinate girls aged 9-14 against cervical cancer. Let's pledge to prevent HPV and ensure easy access to vaccination,’’ said Adar Poonawalla, CEO, of Serum Institute of India, in a post on social media platform X.

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Additionally,  the government also promised more medical colleges to address the growing demand for specialised healthcare. The government has set up 15 new AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) since 2014.

“In healthcare, we were hoping to see an increase in the allocation to about 5 percent of GDP. Hopefully this will be addressed when the complete budget to be announced in July this year, under the new government,” said Dr Azad Moopen, Founder and Chairman, Aster DM Healthcare.

``We are glad that the government is considering adding more hospitals in all districts of the country, which is essential to meet the rising demand. We would recommend focusing on public-private partnerships (PPP) to address this. With all maternal and child healthcare to be brought under one scheme, this will be essential,” he added.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon and Biocon Biologics, called the budget a plan for ‘Viksit Bharat’. “Her (Sitharaman’s) emphasis on research and innovation, biomanufacturing, green technology, robust infrastructure development, and technology-driven digital transformation augurs well for India, to deliver on aspirational yet people-centric, inclusive development,” Shaw said.

The Finance Minister had also announced a new scheme of bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry to provide environment friendly alternatives such as biodegradable polymers, bio-plastics, bio-pharmaceuticals and bio-agri-inputs.  "The Rs. 1 lakh crore R&D allocation for sunrise sectors can potentially act as a catalyst in our innovation journey as the Indian pharma industry aims to reach USD 120-130 billion by 2030. Apart from innovation, there is clear and welcome impetus to green initiatives (such as the new scheme of bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry to transform the current consumptive manufacturing paradigm) ..." said Satish Reddy, Chairman, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited.

The provisions for mother-and-child care and plans for improvement of nutrition programs could also tackle long-standing issues of maternal and child mortality in the nation. “Upgradation of anganwadi centres under `Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0‘ for improved nutrition delivery and early childhood care will be laying a strong foundation for a healthier India,” said Vikram Venkateswaran, Partner, Deloitte India.

"Overall, the budget has not only created an optimistic environment for the sector but also laid a solid foundation for advancements in healthcare, research, and education " said Mr. Nikhil Chopra, CEO and Whole Time Director, JB Pharma on the Budget.

Welcoming the positive actions in the budget, some experts pointed out the misses of the year. “It's worth mentioning that some long-standing demands, like GST rationalisation and increased investment in healthcare, need to be addressed. We anticipate their consideration in the upcoming comprehensive budget,” said Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD and CEO, Fortis Healthcare, and President, NATHEALTH, a platform for healthcare providers and policymakers.