Budget 2021 Takes Many Steps Forward And A Few Back

Underscoring the significant importance of health and wellbeing for the growth and development of the country, the budget allocation for the same has been increased to Rs 2,23,846 crore in the Union Budget 2021-22. But many concerns, such as neglecting digital healthcare in the budget, have also been raised. The industry feels let down as the government did not address tax benefits on R&D investments in pharma, lowering GST for life-saving drugs, focusing on personal health insurance adoption, special attention to mental healthcare, articulation on Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC) and much more.

- Dr Manbeena Chawla

The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2021, has strongly positioned health and wellbeing as one of the 6 crucial pillars of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat. Underscoring the significant importance of health and wellbeing for the growth and development of the country, the budget allocation for the same has been increased to Rs 2,23,846 crore in Budget Expenditure (BE) 202122 as against last year’s BE of Rs 94,452 crore. This manifests into a sharp increase of 137 per cent.

Additionally, the budget has brought a holistic approach to health as it has focused on strengthening three areas: Preventive, Curative, and Wellbeing. The Finance Minister stated that while the investment on the health infrastructure in this budget has increased substantially, ‘“Progressively, as institutions absorb more, we shall commit more ”.

Highlighting that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled the commitment of not only providing relief in the times of COVID-19 but has also turned the crisis into an opportunity for further growth and development, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi says “Investment on health infrastructure in Budget 2021 has increased 2.37 times or 137 per cent. The focus on strengthening three areas preventive health, curative health and well-being with total allocation to the health sector being Rs 2,23,846 crore, will be of immense help to the country at this critical juncture.”

Healthcare