The Union Budget 2024 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday has made significant allocations for India’s healthcare sector. Union Health Ministry has been allocated Rs 90,958.63 crore for the FY 2024-25, which marks a notable increase from Rs 80,517.62 crore in the 2023-2024 revised Budget.
While the government has allocated Rs 87,656.90 crore to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Rs 3,301.73 has been kept for the Department of Health Research, as announced in the Union Budget on Tuesday. The budget allocation for the Ministry of AYUSH has gone up from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 3,712.49 crore.
Apart from this, three cancer drugs have been exempted from Basic Customs Duty (BCD), which is significant at a time when India stands as the ‘Cancer Capital of the World’.
Allocations for National Health Mission and others
The budget expenditure for FY 2024-25 under the National Health Mission (NHM) has also been increased by approx. Rs 4000 crore from Rs 31,550 crore to Rs 36000 crore. National Health Mission is a Central Government Scheme which primarily caters to the Primary and Secondary Healthcare service delivery.
The Centre’s flagship scheme, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) has got an allocation of Rs 7,300 crore extending coverage to ASHA, Anganwadi workers, and helpers across the country.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been allocated Rs 2,732.13 crore. National Tele Mental Health Programme ‘Tele MANAS’ has been allocated Rs 90 crore. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, has been allocated Rs 4,523 crore.
Three Cancer Medicines exempted from Customs Duty
Three cancer medicines namely Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib, and Durvalumab have been exempted from Basic Customs Duty in the Union Budget 2024-25 presented in the Parliament. The request was forwarded by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to the Ministry of Finance in view of the 27 lakh cancer patients in the country.
The three cancer drugs namely Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib and Durvalumab are used for different tumor types. While Trastuzumab Deruxtecan is used for Breast Cancer treatment, Osimertinib is the medicine used for Lung Cancer and Durvalumab caters to Lung Cancer and Biliary Tract Cancer.
This is a welcome move as people battling cancer and their families have to incur huge expenditure for treatment, which is not affordable for all. While many people run out of their savings, they have to take hefty loans to pay hospital bills.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ahead of presenting the Union Budget 2024
Benefits to X-ray machine industry
The Union Finance Minister in yesterday’s budget also revised the custom duty rates on X-ray tubes and flat panel detectors. These revised rates are expected to positively impact the X-ray machine industry by enhancing component availability at lower costs. This change is anticipated to boost the domestic medical device sector, contribute to component availability at lower costs and reduced healthcare costs, making advanced medical imaging more accessible and affordable.
New Medical College in Bihar
While presenting the Union Budget 2024-25, the Finance Minister announced allocations made for new airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure in the state of Bihar.
