Covid-19 likely to bring a sharper focus on health care in upcoming Budget

CII has also called for tax incentives for new health care projects and import duty relief for lifesaving equipment.

The pandemic is expected to bring a sharper focus on health care in the upcoming Budget (2021-22) from a meagre spend of 0.3 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This could be driven by the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine in the country — the biggest such exercise in the world.
 
Together with states, the share of public health expenditure remained stagnant at around 1.15 per cent of GDP over the years. The National Health Policy of 2017 envisioned this expenditure at 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2025. How­ever, the Centre’s share remained aro­und 0.3 per