Budget 2022: Healthcare sector gets shot in the arm, say experts

New Delhi: Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister, presented her fourth Union Budget on Tuesday, with an emphasis on the healthcare sector in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Sitharaman began her address introducing the Budget by emphasizing the importance of boosting the healthcare sector.

"We are in the thick of the Omicron wave, and our vaccine campaign's rapidity has tremendously aided us." We are in a solid position to resist challenges thanks to the rapid strengthening of health infrastructure during the last two years. "With Sabka Prayas, I am optimistic that we will maintain our robust growth," Nirmala Sitharaman stated.

Nirmala Sitharaman announced last year that the government will spend Rs 64,180 crore on healthcare over the next six years.

Ashraf Biran, founder & director, Wellness Forever Medicare, “The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for achieving Aatmanirbhar Bharat has received an excellent response, it is estimated to further create a boost for the healthcare industry. Union Budget 2022-2023 is focused on digitization with the introduction of the National Digital Health Ecosystem which will bring the entire network under one umbrella . This will surely help the healthcare providers’ with better access to the public and vice-versa. Retail Pharmacies with the help of this move can shift their processes in a digitized format allowing better customer service and thereby paving the way for interlinked businesses to merge. We are hoping that exemptions related to drug prices are announced in order to put the healthcare sector in the forefront.”

Tarun Gupta, Co-founder, LISSUN "As a result of the pandemic, a lot of entrepreneurs had stepped forward to address the challenge of rising mental health issues in India. The cases of depression and anxiety disorders witnessed an increase of about 25% globally, and by 35% in India alone. The National Mental Health Programme and Health and Wellness Centres alone could not have reached every individual in the crisis that they might face struggling in a moment. The easy access was the primary point of concern for everyone trying to help towards the issue. The government has recognised this, and addressed the same by launching Tele mental health service. The budget inculcating the fact that focussing mental and emotional wellness is the need of the hour, itself talks about how progressive we are becoming in our approach as a nation." 

Dr Preet Pal Thakur, Co-founder GlamyoHealth, "The primary challenge in delivering fine health services was the lack of awareness and access. A person sitting in tier 2 city might not even know about the presence of a probable medical facility to his current challenge. With the launch of the open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem this particular gap will be filled in a single go. As the Budget mentioned, the platform will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, which will serve the purpose of access and availability of information." 

Founder and CEO Dr. Suman Katragadda, HEAPS  - AI Driven Health-Tech SaaS Platform, “The Union Budget 2022-23 is curated to make some strong strides  on the road of recovery, as the nation has fought a tough battle with COVID-19.  Impetus given to the healthcare sector in the form of announcing the National Digital Health Ecosystem which will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities. With the help of this digital ecosystem, the public can access higher quality healthcare facilities as well as healthcare workers can provide quality driven service. This will also pave the way for additional digitization in the form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Software as a Service (SaaS) companies.” 

"Due priority to the healthcare industry is the need of the hour, made abundantly clear amidst the pandemic. The open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem being rolled out is a step in the right direction, as it will provide better access to healthcare facilities, and increase efficiency in the healthcare industry as well. The National Tele Mental Health program is also a much awaited move which will increase awareness about mental health, and provide access to mental health services regardless of distance. The budget certainly reaffirms our faith in the government's commitment to give the utmost priority to the healthcare industry," said Sheikh M. Arif, Founder and Managing Director, Famous Medicare. 

“Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget for FY23 is well balanced with fiscal prudence and ‘ease of doing business’ as the main themes. I believe the 35% increase in capital expenditure for FY23 is positive and will drive the creation of much-needed infrastructure and jobs. The FM must also be commended for maintaining the fiscal deficit at 6.9% of GDP in FY22. The Budget’s focus on ensuring regulatory ease by promoting digital trust and digital compliance are steps in the right direction. We were expecting some incentives for Pharma R&D in the Budget as public investment is very low in this critical area of research and innovation, which are key for spurring exponential economic growth. The FM has assured the government’s support for R&D expenditure in sunrise areas such as drones, AI, genomics, space, clean energy etc. We will need to see the fine print if there is anything on pharma.  The only concern I have is the absence of any fiscal stimulus for the MSME & Services sector that have borne the brunt of the pandemic with large layoffs and job losses reflected in a sharp drop in rural and semi urban consumption.  Government will need to address this urgently. Overall, it was a positive Budget without any negative surprises.” said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson, Biocon & Biocon Biologics