The budget is seen as representing the government’s policy of authority. Generally speaking, the budget has always been a tool for communicating the government’s policy framework, taking into account people’s desires and political compulsion.
This time, the budget would also give an idea of how concerned the government is about the pandemic.
Is the pandemic going to push the government to redefine its approach to health care?
It is shocking that India has paid very little attention to health care. It is quite sad that last year’s allocation of Rs 69,000 crore was just one per cent of GDP for the health sector.
For the past 10 years, experts and representatives from the health and other industries have been asking for a percentage increase of GDP in healthcare but the government has not fulfilled such requests.
Here’s What Experts Shared About Their Expectations From 2021 Budget-
- Dr GSK Velu, Chairman & Managing Director, Trivitron Healthcare Group
It’s been a year of significant economic instability. The healthcare industry was at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic and is now playing an important role. The Union Budget 2021 will be the most awaited case for the healthcare sector in particular. This year’s budget targets are much higher and different.
As things stand, it is very clear that the Indian economy’s growth is heavily dependent on healthcare and diagnostics.
The dynamics of the healthcare sector have shifted, considering the reality of the pandemic. In India, healthcare allocation has been a problem in the past and the current situation reiterates the need to increase public healthcare spending.
In such a scenario, priority should be given to healthcare infrastructure so that the development of indigenous healthcare equipment and medical technology will increase.
The budget has to be planned with the specifications of the Atma-Nirbhar Bharat in mind. In order to improve indigenous development & study in healthcare, the important allocation must be reserved. In addition, provisions in the union budget must concentrate on promoting local medical device manufacturing to give the ‘Made in India’ initiative an impetus.
India needs an effective solution in order to meet its health sector’s challenges, particularly high public costs, and the most efficient solution to this is therapeutic technology.
Therapeutic options will surely contribute towards the country’s robust and interconnected ecosystem of health care and provide access to high-quality and cost-effective care for patients.
The budget should concentrate on expanding high-quality healthcare that could boost the affordability and accessibility of healthcare through the use of technology to reach a local level.
- Harshit Jain MD, Founder and CEO, Doceree
The pandemic hit India’s healthcare badly, and despite waiting until 2015 to meet the goal of spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on healthcare, the government should keep an eye on achieving it in the next two years so that the country’s health infrastructure can be strengthened. It is also high time that investment is dramatically increased, considering that our country’s population is so enormous.
In addition, while universal health care is a welcome move and so is the Health IDs definition, they must not sit on papers and get mired in red tape, facing delays. Allocations and deadlines should be announced in the forthcoming budget so that they are executed in a coordinated way and we are closer to achieving the goal of making healthcare available and accessible.
Besides, innovative healthcare startups that are working to promote accessibility and affordability should be encouraged by way tax benefits and tax holidays so that government and private partners can work together to make the condition of Indian healthcare better.
