The focus of the Union Budget 2010-11 is on rural healthcare with the allocations rising to a whopping INR 22,300 crores from INR 19,534 crores during the previous fiscal year. This escalation is in keeping with the evolving needs of the growing healthcare industry of the country. The finance minister also pointed out that there are plans to carry out a national annual survey to analyse the health profiles of the populace in the rural districts. This year’s budget should bring immense benefits to major public health initiatives under the National Rural Health Mission(NRHM) aims to address the gaps in the delivery of critical health services in rural areas. NRHM regularly funded since 2005, was launched in the same year to tackle health inequalities in rural areas, especially in the 18 states with particularly poor health-related infrastructure.
The gist of the budget concerning the health sector are the allocation of overall funds increased by Rs 2,770 crore, annual surveys to prepare the health profile in rural districts, assess expenditure carried out under National Rural Health Mission, uniform / concessional basic duty of 5% for all medical appliances, convergence of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) with wider health insurance coverage through Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, (Health insurance for BPL families) countervailing duty of 4% on all medical equipments, with full exemption from special additional duty. FDI norms have been relaxed which will see more international players coming in to India in the healthcare sector. Added to this rationalisation of duties on medical equipment can make imports cheaper and can significantly lower healthcare costs in the country. However no announcement of setting up of new hospitals came as a disappointment. Prathap C Rudy Chairman Apollo Hospitals said that India needs one lack more hospital beds in the next decade. The government should do everything to promote investment in this sector besides promoting skill development of doctors, nurses and paramedical staff. However the budget invoked disappointments too, as no announcement was made regarding the promotion or setting up of new hospitals. The budget also missed out on tax exemption for the education sector, especially teaching hospitals. There has been a number of projects of the government on which no fund has been spent so far such as telemedicine and transplant programme.
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