Budget fails to cheer healthcare industry as long standing demands unmet

Leading healthcare providers rued that the Budget has failed to address many of the long pending demands of the industry.

Leading healthcare providers on Tuesday rued that the Budget has failed to address many of the long pending demands of the industry.

Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI) Chairman Pavan Choudary noted that the pandemic has highlighted the scarcity of skilled healthcare workers at all levels.

"We hope that through the plans to renovate National Skill Qualification Framework and launch a digital ecosystem for skilling, we will be able to bridge the skill gap," he noted.

He further said: "Though we still need to go through the fine print, the Budget has not addressed many of the issues highlighted by large parts of the healthcare industry like streamlining of GST and reduction of Customs duty," Choudary stated.

The rolling back of the health cess is the other demand which will help the industry preserve jobs, he added.

NATHEALTH President Harsh Mahajan said,"We congratulate the government on record GST mobilisation, however, the embedded credit issue in healthcare sector still remains unaddressed, and we hope to soon find a viable solution acceptable to the government."

There is also a need to create fiscal incentives for investments/PPP in both hospital and out-of-hospital delivery models like telemedicine, home care, senior care and long-term care, he added.

"We request the government to consider lowering cost of financing capital, free flow of credit into the sector especially for the build-up of new infra and capacity and continue investment in incentivising capacity build-up of supply side levers through PPP like medical education, diagnostic and device manufacturing," Mahajan noted.

Fortis Healthcare MD & CEO Ashutosh Raghuvanshi stated that the proposed National Tele Mental Health Programme will prove to be beneficial for a large section of the society, enabling access to quality mental health counselling.

Apollo Hospitals Group Chairman Prathap C Reddy said during the pandemic, the industry witnessed an immense contribution of startups to innovation in healthcare and the extension of the tax benefits for another year should encourage more startups in the healthtech space to invest in R&D especially in the field of AI-powered smart wearables and predictive healthcare.

"This will in turn be invaluable in strengthening our fight against non-communicable diseases, which can otherwise derail the economic recovery by impacting our productive demographic," he added.

Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) President S Sridhar said while the government's thrust on PLI augurs well for the sector and the country at large, the dependence on imports for active pharmaceuticals ingredients (APIs) and bulk drugs continues to be a challenge.

"There is a need to consider the introduction of an RLI Scheme' Research-Linked Incentive Scheme, which will accelerate an atmanirbhar ecosystem for end-to-end development of pharmaceuticals - from bulk drugs to finished formulations," he stated.

IPA Secretary General Sudarshan Jain noted that policy consistency has been maintained in the Union Budget.

"The planned increase in capital expenditure is likely to boost economic growth and employment," he stated.

Novartis India Country President and Managing Director Sanjay Murdeshwar said the budget is in line to support the growth and recovery of the economy while keeping the overall policy stability and fiscal discipline, the industry keenly anticipates an equal impetus on innovation and R&D.

"Policies attracting future investments in R&D and retaining world-class talent in the country is critical to make India aatmanirbhar," he said.

Cipla MD & Global CEO Umang Vohra said the announcement on enabling a national mental health programme will help provide access to quality counselling and necessary care across rural and urban settings within the country.

"This is a stepping stone for the healthcare industry to spotlight the importance of mental health along with the shift towards wellness and preventive care," he added.

Wipro GE Healthcare Managing Director Shravan Subramanyam said the proposed National Tele Mental Health Programme represents a progressive step towards recognizing and acting on mental health issues, especially considering the emotional toll that COVID-19 has taken on people.

Echoing similar views, Torrent Group Chairman Samir Mehta stated that the programme is another extension of digital health mission while improving the quality of life of citizens.