What lies ahead for India’s health sector under the Union Budget 2024-25?

One of the initiatives includes a budget expenditure increase under the National Health Mission.

India has unveiled its initiatives for the healthcare sector under the launch of the Union Budget 2024-25.

This includes an increase in budget expenditure under the National Health Mission (NHM) from $3.8b (Rs 31,550 Cr) to $4.3m (Rs 36000 Cr) to invest in primary and secondary public healthcare facilities for the implementation of preventive and curative care.

Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman announced the exemption of three cancer drugs, namely Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib, and Durvalumab, from customs duty.

This request was forwarded by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to the Ministry of Finance to improve these drugs’ affordability for cancer patients in India.

Furthermore, custom duty rates were revised on X-ray tubes and flat panel detectors to boost the country’s domestic medical device sector, as well as to reduce healthcare costs.

INR 1 = $0.012