Budget 2023: What Industry Experts Said On The Health Sector Allocation By Sitharaman

Budget 2023: The increased emphasis on AI research and development is unquestionably a step in the right direction, said Redcliffe Labs founder Dheeraj Jain.

Representational image of Stethoscope

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2023–2024 on Wednesday. The government also announced its mission to eradicate sickle cell anaemia by 2047 and allocated Rs 89,155 crore to the health sector in the Union Budget 2023-2024.  This represented an increase of approximately 13% from the Rs 79,145 crore that was allocated to the sector in 2022-23.

Sitharaman stated that in addition to the 157 medical colleges that have been established since 2014, 157 new nursing colleges will be established. 

"A mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047 will be launched. It will entail awareness creation, universal screening of 7 crore people in the age group of 0-40 years in affected tribal areas, and counselling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and state governments," she said.

The reactions of industry insiders and experts to this year's budget are as follows:

Sudhir Raj Thout, Research Fellow, The George Institute for Global Health India

We welcome the announcement that cigarettes would be more expensive with the increased custom duty of 16%. This is a positive move in the right direction in reducing non-communicable diseases in the country; especially as it discourages the younger population from smoking.

Amitabh Dube, Country President and Managing Director, Novartis India

We welcome the Union Budget 2023-24 announced by FM Nirmala Sitharaman and applaud the focus on research and innovation as these factors are essential in driving value-added growth. Fostering a robust research ecosystem will help in achieving universal health coverage by enabling accessibility, and availability of life-saving medicines. It will also improve India's intellectual capital and contribute to accelerating our growth toward becoming a $10 trillion economy by 2035.

Dilip Jose, MD & CEO, Manipal Health Enterprises Pvt Ltd

"It is a progressive budget with a focus on infrastructure development, which should in turn spur job creation. The steps to encourage environment-friendly consumption and businesses are very welcome too. The budget is also mindful of the expectations of the youth and the middle class."

Dheeraj Jain, Founder & MD, Redcliffe Labs

The increased emphasis on AI research and development is unquestionably a step in the right direction. It will help create sustainable healthcare solutions. This will eventually benefit the public at large. As stated by the FM, leading industry players will collaborate with renowned educational institutions to establish three Artificial Intelligence (AI) Centers of Excellence, conduct interdisciplinary research, create cutting-edge applications, and find scalable solutions to problems in the fields of health, agriculture, and sustainable systems.

Dr Sunil Rao, CEO, Dr DY Patil Hospital & Research Centre

The Union Budget 2023-2024 allotted 2.1 % of GDP to the health sector in FY23 against 1.4 % in FY19. The announcement of Union Budget 2023-2024, AMRITKAL-Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has been encouraging. there is a big push for an ambitious target to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047. 7 crore people between the ages of 0-40 will be examined in the affected tribal areas. Programs like these can be a path-breaking model for future programs to address other ailments like curable blindness.

Divya Gokulnath, Co-founder, BYJU'S on the announcements made in the education sector

With a focus on digitalization and formalization, the budget is investing in digital public infrastructure that will position India for continued growth and competitiveness. The education sector is a key area of investment, with the launch of PM Schools for Rising India, the recruitment of 38,800 teachers, and the establishment of a National Digital Library for children. These initiatives will help equip students with the skills and knowledge needed for success in the future, and the emphasis on teacher training and innovative pedagogy will ensure that the quality of education in India continues to improve. This forward-thinking budget sets India on a path towards self-reliance and global competitiveness.

Anjan Bose, Founding Secretary General, NATHEALTH, Former President of Philips Healthcare & Consumer Lifestyle, currently Advisor to eminent organisations like FICCI Healthcare/MedTech, Tata Medical and Diagnostic

"That the first Budget in Amrit Kaal has been balanced and positive, is corroborated by the significant jump in both SENSEX and NIFTY 50...Healthcare got it's sunshine moments and good focus through 157 new Nurses college, mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia, incentivising Pharma R & D, dedicated skill courses for futuristic Medical technologies,high end manufacturing...Announcing setting up of 3 centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence with the vision of "Make AI in India & make AI work for India" should have positive transformational impact across segments in Healthcare sector..We hope the focus on increasing Healthcare  expenditure as a percentage of GDP in the post pandemic period continues..."

Vishal Gondal, Founder & CEO, GOQii, a Smart Preventive Healthcare Company

"With a focus on accessible, affordable and inclusive health care for all along with an emphasis on improving health infrastructure, bettering R&D for innovations and improving healthcare services in the country, the Union Budget 2023 for the healthcare sector is a step in the right direction. This will ensure that everyone in India gets access to healthcare services. The initiatives announced to strengthen the digital healthcare infrastructure will prove to be beneficial for the healthcare sector in the years to come. The budget also emphasizes the need for preventive healthcare measures, which will go a long way in reducing the burden of preventable diseases and illnesses. All in all, it is an inclusive budget for the healthcare sector to  benefit all sections of society," says Vishal Gondal, Founder & CEO, GOQii, a Smart Preventive Healthcare Company

Dr. Sanjeev Singh, Medical Director, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad 

“The budget the Finance Minister presented today is very good and futuristic. The outlay for health sector has increased this year and stands at Rs 88000 crores. The outlay for expenditure has increased in almost all areas — Ministry of Health, Ayushman Bharat, Department of Health Research, and for Tuberculosis and HIV programmes.  

The budget is futuristic as it has opened the path for creating Centres of Excellences —three institutions dedicated to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Robotics and 3D printing. We know that complex surgical procedures require the intervention of these three specialities and will be helpful for healthcare.   

India is facing a workforce shortage. We are short of one million doctors, two million nursing staff and three million workers in allied health sciences. In the budget, 157 medical colleges have been asked to co-work with nursing colleges to increase manpower allocation and provide training. This is a huge step.  

Last Independence Day, Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a campaign ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan’. He stressed the need for research. In the latest budget, ICMR has been given a phenomenal increase in expenditure, enormous research potential, and the capacity to tap private institutions for research. This is an encouraging step.  

The government is dedicated to ‘Make in India’ campaign. There is a massive impetus for making medical equipment and manufacturing big-ticket items and high-tech medical devices. The budget has asked industries to participate, and we will have to look into the details to find what exactly has been allocated.  

The budget focuses on eliminating sickle cell anaemia, and the programme has taken a new dimension. There is screening for seven crore people who belong to the age group of 0-40 years. Surveillance mechanisms will be put in place at tribal, rural, semi- urban, and urban areas. It will be done in collaboration with other stakeholders. This is an extremely encouraging step.  

With the health sector expanding and many new hospitals coming up at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, the availability of a skilled workforce is an agenda of concern. This financial budget does talk about building a skilled workforce or capacity building.  

Even though the budget looks very good and futuristic, there are certain concerns.  Healthcare cost is increasing day by day and it is becoming increasingly dependent on advanced technology, and 45 % of our bill goes into the procurement of medical devises which are used on the patients and along with costly pharmaceutical products.  

This budget does not talk about reduction and import duty and any provisions for building hospitals and healthcare facilities in Tier 2 / Tier 3 regions. It does not mention any inclusion or expansion of insurance sector. Hence it does not meet the requirement of universal health coverage to which the government is committed. We would have been happy if something could have been done for universal health coverage and reduction of healthcare cost. It would have helped patients who come to the hospital.”