Union Budget 2023: Govt Allocates Over 2% of GDP to Health

Highlights:

Allocates over 2% for health of the nation
Setting up of 157 new nursing colleges in collaboration with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014
16% hike of taxes on cigarettes
Plan to eliminate sickle-cell anemia by 2047

The fifth union budget of Modi 2.0 was presented today by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Finance Minister said that the Indian economy is on the right path and heading towards a bright future. This is the last full-fledged budget before the general elections in 2024. The highlight of the budget was bringing down the overall income tax for the middle-income-earner group in FY 2023-24. Besides this, the government has allocated over 2% of GDP to health. There has been a hike on cigarettes of 16%.

Other highlights include –

A new programme will be set up to promote research in the field of medicine.
New provisions will be started for innovation in pharma, with new programmes being launched.
A new course will be launched to provide information for medical devices.
The number of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) labs will be increased across the country.
Private investment will increase in the health sector.

Focus on Medical Education & Research

Total allocation for health and family welfare department stood at Rs. 89,155 cr, about 0.34% higher than last year's allocation of Rs. 86,200 cr.

Health Budget 2023 Highlights: Priority to Medical Education, Research and Innovation
Union Budget 2023: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Union Budget 2023-24 on Wednesday, February 1, 2023.

‘The Union budget has taken a serious step forward for the health sector and given more importance to research.’

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that a new programme for research in pharmaceuticals will be formulated and the industry will be encouraged to invest in research. The pharmaceutical industry has been asking for incentives to promote R&D investments.

Eliminate Sickle Cell Anemia By 2047

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says mission to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047 will be launched. This Budget is the first in Amrit Kaal, Sitharaman added. Sitharaman on Wednesday prioritized medical education and setting up of nursing colleges.

Mrs. Sitharaman also said that the government would come up with a programme to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047 which will entail awareness, universal screening of the seven crore people in the targeted age group of 0-40 years in affected tribal areas, and also counseling through joint efforts in which both the central ministries and state governments would participate. Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disease, where a person has misshapen hemoglobin, with less ability to carry oxygen.

Mrs. Sitharaman also announced the establishment of 157 new nursing colleges to improve the nurse-patient ratio. "157 new nursing colleges will be established in co-locations with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014," she said.

Cigarettes to Burn Holes in Your Pocket With 16% Tax Hike
Taxes on cigarettes will be hiked by 16 percent as per the union health budget

The Finance Minister added that facilities in select Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) laboratories would be made available for research by public and private medical college faculty members and private sector research and development teams to encourage collaborative work.

Mr Munendra Soperna, CIO, Lal Path Labs in a 1-2-1 with MedIndia commented

Union Budget 2020: Rs 69,000 Crore Allocated for Health Sector
Union Budget 2020 has allocated Rs. 69,000 crore to the Health sector and Rs. 6,400 crore was included for Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). Ayushman Bharat got a boost, as hospitals are gonna be developed under PPP mode in Tier-II, Tier-III cities.

In its pre-budget demand, the domestic pharma industry wanted a budget that would fuel innovation and R&D, which in turn will give a boost to the pharmaceutical industry. Sitharaman added: "A new programme to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals will be taken up through centers of excellence. We shall also encourage industry to invest in research and development in specific priority areas. Dedicated multidisciplinary courses for medical devices will be supported in existing institutions to ensure availability of skilled manpower for futuristic medical technologies, high-end manufacturing and research."

The Economic Survey 2023 tabled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament on Tuesday showed that the central and state governments' budgeted expenditure in the health sector reached 2.1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022-23. The revised estimate the year before was 2.2 percent of the GDP.

Budget 2019: What's New in the Health Sector?
Budget 2019: The Union Budget was presented in Parliament on 1st February 2019. In the health sector, it has positively impacted the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme, while other areas received less priority.

In comparison, just 1.6 percent of the GDP was spent by the Centre and state governments on healthcare in 2020-21 (FY21). The National Health Policy, 2017, envisages increasing the government's health expenditure to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2025. Moreover, the share of government's health expenditure in total health outlay has increased from 28.6 percent in FY14 to 40.6 percent in FY19, the Economic Survey revealed. The out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) as a share of total health expenditure has come down to 48.2 percent in FY19 from 64.2 percent in FY14, as per the report. The survey report also showed the share of expenditure on health in the total expenditure on social services has increased from 21 percent in FY19 to 26 percent in FY23 (BE).

Prof. ND Mathur, Dean, Jaipur School of Economics, JECRC University in an exclusive byte to Medindia, said that the Union budget will give a boost to the health sector and sustainable investment in the health sector is expected in future. ICMR labs reach out will have positive impact definitely, those who opt for Health Insurance and Life Insurance will have great benefit and reduction of custom duty on health equipment is an important feature.

Source-Medindia