Budget: Experts push for higher health, edu fund, duty cuts on cancer care

A key demand discussed in the meeting was the reduction of customs duty and other levies on the import of radiation machines used to treat cancer

Health and education experts  in a a pre-Budget meeting on Monday urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to address issues related to cancer care equipment, health and education spending, and increase focus on teachers' training under the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.  

 

“A reduction in the Customs duty of radiation machines, such as linear accelerators, is important, as these are imported as standard machines, that are currently not available in the country. This will help in providing cancer care to many,” said Kailash Sharma, director of Mumbai-based Tata Memorial Centre.

 

This comes after several Indian medical device manufacturers have raised concerns over the import of pre-owned and second-hand high-end and high-value medical equipment.

 

“Among other subjects that were discussed was regarding the expansion of cancer care to far-off regional areas,” said Abhijat Sheth, president of National Board of Examinations. He denied any discussions taking place regarding medical education.  

 

Experts from the education sector asked the government to effectively expedite the implementation of the NEP 2020.

 

“There was a discussion on various aspects of implementation such as vocational education and teacher training, especially training teachers in the Anganwadis,” said Raj Nehru, vice-chancellor, Shri Vishwakarma Skill University, Haryana.

 

Apart from the discussion on furthering school education, experts discussed on how to leverage technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital education in India. “This included usage of tech-driven solutions to increase the gross enrollment ratio, and a need to raise the allocation for education,” he said.

  The meeting, attended by senior officials from the finance ministry, department of school education, and department of health research, also focused on increasing health expenditure, and research for non-communicable diseases, one of the attendees said.