The Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Sector responded positively to the Union Budget 2022 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. While the Union Budget 2022 acknowledged the accelerated improvement in health infrastructure in the past two years, it concentrated on the development of a ‘National Tele Mental Health Programme’ to further strengthen mental health services. In the healthcare sector the commencement of an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem which includes the creation of digital registries for health providers and facilities, unique health identifications, consent frameworks and universal access to health care proves to be instrumental. As a result it will facilitate the digitalization of the sector and oost the role of healthtech businesses.
Siddharth Shah Director Bharat Rubber Works Pvt Ltd (A pioneer in healthcare packaging) said “India has been in the category of developing world where it had to wait for years efore it could begin vaccinating against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Many people especially those our age may not know that there was a time when India depended heavily on foreign aid to ensure the food supply of its large population. It is unimaginable that India was able to vaccinate a significant proportion of its population within two years of the outbreak of the pandemic – the first time in history the change the country has seen. over the years. More LIP-based programs are expected to ramp up freight and strengthen supply chain infrastructure which has been severely disrupted during the pandemic. In addition it will promote productivity improvement. They will be key to maintaining this momentum there posting industry growth and strengthening India’s place in the global pharmaceutical value chain. This is the right time to invest and improve production capacity for production in terms of quantity and quality”.
Harish Iyer, Chief Financial Officer Carestream India said: “The key expectations in the budget are the ways and means to accelerate the healthcare sector. This includes increasing public spending on healthcare to 2.53% of GDP as planned in the 2017 National Health Policy reducing the GST rate on medical equipment and supplies and Eliminating taxes on imported medical equipment. In this respect Union Budget 2022 offers no clear guidelines and no well-known advertising. However measures are welcome such as the rollout of a national digital health ecosystem with a digital register of healthcare providers and medical facilities, a single health identity and the like. Universal access to medical facilities and exemptions for certain medical devices and drugs that have national capacity (fine print is expected to better understand this) are measures eneficial and will have far-reaching consequences for the health sector in India”.
Dr Nirmala Rao director of the Aavishkar Center which operates a toll-free mental health helpline said: “I am delighted that the government has announced a national telehealth programme. My team of volunteers and I have been supporting mental health issues throughout 2021 initially with Covid Warriors and then opening up to society during the pandemic. As a community we all experience emotional distress and it needs to be addressed. It is a welcome decision.
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