Union Budget 2023: HEALTHCARE

The Tech Panda asked the healthcare sector what it thinks of the Union Budget 2023 policies for the industry.

The healthcare sector had many expectations from the Union Budget 2023 presented by Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The highlight is the skilling program for nursing as well as the elimination of sickle cell anaemia.

HIGHLIGHTS

Allocation for development of pharma industry is INR1250 crore
157 new nursing colleges
Sickle cell anaemia elimination mission launch
Program to promote pharma R&D

The Tech Panda asked the healthcare sector what it thinks of the Union Budget 2023 policies for the industry.

Dr. Tathagato Rai Dastidar, Founder & CEO, SigTuple

“The newly announced focus on screening and eradicating sickle cell anaemia in the country is a step in the right direction. Anaemias and other haematological disorders are endemic in tribal populations of the country. Use of advanced digital technologies can help vastly increase the scale of screening than what is possible today.

The proposed National Data Governance Policy, which provides access to anonymized data, will go a long way in supporting the stated mission of making AI work in India

“The proposed National Data Governance Policy, which provides access to anonymized data, will go a long way in supporting the stated mission of making AI work in India.”

Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures

“Setting up of 157 medical colleges will not only help in improving health infra but will also help promote medi-tech startups as they will have more avenues and close to their place then depending on few hospitals for testing their innovation.

Setting up of 157 medical colleges will not only help in improving health infra but will also help promote medi-tech startups

“This will certainly help in promoting health-tech and medi-tech startups.”

Pritika Singh, CEO, Prayag Hospitals Group

“We welcome FM Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement regarding establishing 157 new nursing colleges in core locations. In addition, the proposal for a multidisciplinary course for medical devices for skilled manpower is also praiseworthy. The dedicated multidisciplinary course for medical devices will be supported in existing institutions to ensure the availability of skilled manpower for futuristic medical technologies and high-end manufacturing and research.

The dedicated multidisciplinary course for medical devices will be supported in existing institutions to ensure the availability of skilled manpower for futuristic medical technologies and high-end manufacturing and research

“The health budget has been increasing yearly, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. In the Union Budget 2022-23, 86,200 crore rupees were allocated to the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, a 16.5 percent increase over the previous year. Apart from that, we also laud the new program for pharma research proposed by the FM. The program 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.”

Archit Garg, Co-founder, Glamyo Health

“Widening the infrastructure pan India is the primary need when it comes to strengthening the healthcare structure. And to do so we need skilled talent and thicker allocation. Last year, Hon’ble FM had announced AI intervention in health, and NDHM, which had fueled the infrastructure aspect, while this year the budget has included the wish for more talent by announcing 157 new nursing colleges in co-location with 157 medical colleges.

The budget has included the wish for more talent by announcing 157 new nursing colleges in co-location with 157 medical colleges

“Simultaneously, the new entrepreneurs that came forward to contribute to the healthcare ecosystem can now enjoy the ease of compliance too. It is a holistic approach for healthcare spread over two year if one sees it together.”

Dr. Harshit Jain, Founder & Global CEO, Doceree

“The Union Budget 2023-24 presented by our Hon’ble Finance Minister is committed towards providing significant stimulus to the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry with increased allocation of funds (as compared to previous year) and we duly welcome it. Government’s financial and infrastructural impetus focused on improving skilling and education in the sector, especially in nursing care and multidisciplinary knowledge in medical devices, shall significantly improve the availability of skilled personnel in healthcare.

Government’s financial and infrastructural impetus focused on improving skilling and education in the sector, especially in nursing care and multidisciplinary knowledge in medical devices, shall significantly improve the availability of skilled personnel in healthcare

“Introduction of a new programme to boost research and innovation in pharmaceuticals with support of centres of excellence, coupled with encouragement for public-private collaboration for research purposes, is a welcoming move and has a huge potential to improve healthcare with revolutionary innovations and solutions. It shall also encourage participation of health startups to provide on-ground support for implementation of such forward-looking programmes.

“Introduction of new schemes under our Digital India goal to augment India’s proficiency in new age technologies and solutions, shall also directly/indirectly benefit the healthcare and pharma industry in the years to come.”

Dr. Jagadish Hiremath, Chairman, AASRA Hospitals

“Although the budget does cover some of the important aspects of healthcare, it has not touched on surgical robotics which will be playing an important role in upgrading Indian medical infrastructure to higher standards going forward. Considering the fact that the number of surgeries done in India is spiking up constantly and the integration of surgical robotics has been on rise especially post pandemic, it would have been wiser to allocate a budget to encourage robotic surgeries.

Considering the fact that the number of surgeries done in India is spiking up constantly and the integration of surgical robotics has been on rise especially post pandemic, it would have been wiser to allocate a budget to encourage robotic surgeries

“There was a huge expectation that the government would continue giving budgetary allocations for medical tourism which would boost the private healthcare players to thrive in current times of economic uncertainties. Over everything the much needed policy changes to make it easier for the public to claim insurance for robotic surgeries too has not been touched upon during the current budget. However in short I would say the current budget has stayed far away from what was expected.”

Krishna Veer Singh, Co-founder & CEO, Lissun

“It was evident during the lockdown that mental health has remained an ignored area and demands immediate attention. In the last budget, Hon’ble FM announced the launch of a Tele Mental Health service.

This year, the budget has encompassed the needs of healthcare professionals by announcing 157 new nursing colleges

“This year, the budget has encompassed the needs of healthcare professionals by announcing 157 new nursing colleges. All this together will serve the purpose of adding fuel to the healthcare infrastructure, and it is the only way it will make complete sense. Also, there has been a significant increase in the budget allocation towards the Healthcare Ministry which indicates the government’s attention toward health standards in the country.”

Pankaj Balwani, Founder, Xplore Lifestyle

“As far as keeping macroeconomic stability is concerned, the budget has definitely ticked all the boxes. The setting up of multidisciplinary courses for medical devices in existing institutions as well as the provision for new-age courses under PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana such as coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics, IOT, 3D printing, drones, etc would definitely have a multiplier effect while also giving an impetus to the skilling and upskilling of MedTech professionals in the country.

As a MedTech solutions provider, we would have expected the government to announce reductions on customs duties and GST on medical devices

“Relatedly, the promotion of pharma research through sharing of research at ICMR labs and centers of excellence will also help in this endeavor. However, even as we wait for the fine print, as a MedTech solutions provider, we would have expected the government to announce reductions on customs duties and GST on medical devices. Also, the government could have expanded the scope and budget for PLI programs for medical devices in today’s budget.”

Rajat Goel, Co-founder & CEO, Eye-Q

“A lot of startups have been stepping into the healthcare sector to address different challenges attentively. However, catering to the world’s second-largest population demands skilled professionals. And we can never have enough when it comes to talent in the medical field. Therefore, we are glad that the government is focusing on better education by announcing 157 new nursing colleges.

Pharma goes hand in hand with healthcare and requires continues research and financing, and the new program to promote research and innovation in pharma will be taken up through Centres of Excellence can certainly serve the purpose

“Additionally, pharma goes hand in hand with healthcare and requires continues research and financing, and the new program to promote research and innovation in pharma will be taken up through Centres of Excellence can certainly serve the purpose.”

Hari Subramaniam, Founder & Director, LifeSigns

“The budget for 2023–24 is a significant step forward for the healthtech sector. With a focus on strengthening the research infrastructure and investment in digitalization through 5G, it sets a positive trajectory for companies like ours. The establishment of new nursing colleges and the allocation of resources for medical research and pharmaceutical innovation demonstrate a commitment to improving healthcare access and outcomes.

These initiatives will foster a dynamic environment for collaboration and more access to new technology in healthcare, skilling the manpower, and encouraging companies like ours to contribute to the growth of the sector and the improvement of healthcare for all citizens

“At LifeSigns, we’re particularly encouraged by the dedicated multidisciplinary courses for medical devices and the support for medical research in select ICMR labs. These initiatives will foster a dynamic environment for collaboration and more access to new technology in healthcare, skilling the manpower, and encouraging companies like ours to contribute to the growth of the sector and the improvement of healthcare for all citizens.”

Param Bhargava, Founder, The Ayurveda Co.

“The offerings of the Union Budget for 2023–24 are aimed at encouraging inclusive and sustainable growth across all crucial sectors, including healthcare and MSMEs. The government has allocated Rs 89,155 crores to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to strengthen the healthcare sector. Also, the revamping of the credit guarantee scheme, which was mooted last year, will go into action on April 1, 2023, thanks to an investment of Rs. 9,000 crores into the corpus. It allows an additional Rs. 2 lakh crore of collateral-free guaranteed loans.

The offerings of the Union Budget for 2023–24 are aimed at encouraging inclusive and sustainable growth across all crucial sectors, including healthcare ad MSMEs

“Since MSMEs are also the main drivers of economic growth in our country and contribute significantly to the healthcare sector, the enhanced limits of 3 crores for micro firms and 75 lakhs for certain professionals to avail the benefit of presumptive taxation will simplify tax filing more and relax all the MSMEs. The Finance Minister also proposes that the maximum surcharge rate be revised from 37 per cent to 25 per cent, which will undoubtedly relieve businesses from having to pay extra tax and be profitable for their firm.

“The government also plans to launch a brand-new pharmaceutical research and development programme. The programme will encourage the pharmaceutical industry to adopt novel technologies. All the ideas confirm that this year’s budget is balanced and can positively contribute to the nation’s overall growth.”