Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Rs.30,145 crore was allocated to the health ministry in the interim budget for 2014-15 by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram .This move is being hailed as "positive" by the health sector.
To eradicate and fight the AIDS menace, Rs.1,785 crore has been allocated to department of AIDS control while department of health research has been allocated Rs.726 crore.
The department of ayurveda, homeopathy, yoga, naturopathy, unani and siddha has been given Rs.1,069 crore.
Flagship schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, aimed at strengthening the tertiary sector, has been given Rs.1,456 crore.
Sangita Reddy, executive director at the Apollo Hospitals said: "Overall, it is a positive interim budget. I welcome the finance minister's statement about treating universal health care as a national priority."
"The government has to now focus on creating an effective mechanism to fund healthcare costs of the masses," she added.
(With Agency inputs)
