Post Budget- 2022 Reaction From Healthcare Industry Experts

Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman and Managing Director, Aster DM Healthcare “Digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities under the National Digital Health Mission are positive steps towards

February 1, 2022

10:13 am

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Dr. Azad Moopen,
Founder Chairman and Managing Director,
Aster DM Healthcare

“Digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities under the National Digital Health Mission are positive steps towards enabling access to healthcare for the wider population. Similarly, we are glad that mental health and the challenges put forward by the pandemic are being tackled at a National level with the launch of Tele-Mental Health Programme. Upgrade of 2 lakh Anganwadis with better facilities will further enable the primary healthcare system and much needed healthcare support in remote & rural areas.

While it is good to see that the focus on Digitisation, Sustainability, Energy Conservation and Development of Infrastructure has taken a clear precedence in Union Budget 2022, the allocation towards Healthcare is not to the level we anticipated. Coming out of the shadows of the pandemic, it is most important to allocate at least 3% of the Budget to healthcare”.

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Dr GIRDHAR GYANI
Director General
Association of Healthcare Providers (India)

At the outset, AHPI welcome the enhancement in central capital expenditure by huge margin of 35.4%. Fiscal deficit also is pegged at 6.4%. This makes it as Growth Oriented Budget. Although AHPI was expecting direct mention of increase in budget for healthcare but we realize that growth in healthcare sector today is interlinked to other industry sectors. For example, as building of 25000 km new roads will incentivize building of health infrastructure in remote locations. Similarly laying of optical fiber in all villages will also boost the telemedicine, which is need of hour. Budget has of course specifically mentioned about National Digital Health Mission and setting up of National Health Registry for health establishments etc. and which also will cater to establishment of Electronic Health Records, which is key component in health reforms. Similarly, government intent of focus on setting up of 23-mental health centers is welcome step in general and more specifically for long COVID patients. This initiative will also have associate new Indian Institute of Information Technology at Bangalore, which will help in counselling of patients suffering with mental related ailments across nation.

The expenditure on health sector is pegged at 86606 crores compared to 75000 crores in current year, which is marginal increase but coupled with overall increase in capital expenditure, it is hoped that healthcare sector will get boost. Provision of 1-lakh crore interest free loan to states will also have positive impact on spending on healthcare infrastructure by states. AHPI has been strongly favoring opening up of 100-bedded tertiary care hospitals in Tier-III cities to extend real benefit of PMJAY (AYUSHMAN BHARAT) to underprivileged population in these regions and this provision to states will hopefully hasten the infrastructure in tier-III cities. AHPI welcome up-gradation plan for 2-lakh ANGANWADI Centers, which will have positive impact on promotive and preventive health. Similarly specific allocation for clean tap water will help in improving preventive health aspects of marginalized population.

AHPI had specifically suggested for urgent enhancement in healthcare infrastructure by way of hospital beds and man power including doctors, nursing staff and allied healthcare work force. India currently has 1.5 beds per 1000 population against norm of 3.5 beds and this can be possible only if government provides push through incentives in Tier-III cities. Similarly, AHPI had recommended urgent measures to increase number of specialists doctors for which AHPI recommends setting up of PG institute in each state. Similarly, we need to enhance nursing strength through ANMs as they can continue for long time with built in career progression. Parliament had recently adopted Allied Health Professional Bill and there is huge potential in training healthcare workforce not only for our country but it has huge potential in supplying to entire globe and which will boost employment. Therefore, there is urgent need to provide budget for operationalizing of the BILL.

Union Budget 2022–Disappointing Budget for Medical Devices Industry
No measures to end 80-85% Import Dependence forced upon India

RAJIV NATH
Forum Coordinator
Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD)

Mr. Rajiv Nath expressed deep disappointment and anguish over the Union Budget 2022 giving cold shoulder again to the Indian Medical Device Industry and nothing laudable for the Healthcare.

We were expecting the government to move forward on promised reforms and anticipated conducive measures to boost domestic manufacturing of medical devices. It is frustrating that against our expectations, the government has not included any measures to help end the 80-85% import dependence forced upon India and an ever increasing import bill of over Rs.46000 Crore & promoting growth Indian Medical Device industry other than repeating last year’s assurance to end custom exemptions of products that can be made in India.

Sadly the union budget 2022 speech has no strategic stated measures to boost domestic manufacturing. These are the same domestic manufacturers, when imports got disrupted during COVID-19 crisis, the Govt. relied heavily on them to meet the rising demand of essential Covid items for the country pushing the Indian medical devices sector to become self-reliant.

The Indian Medical Devices Industry’s expectations were:

Predictable tariff policy
Graded increase of custom duty to 10-15% from current zero to 7.5%
Reduced GST on 18% where being applied to 12% as Medical Devices are not luxury goods.
Not clear if Health Cess applied on some medical devices being also applied on other medical devices
No announcement on R&D related tax breaks to motivate indigenous development

We had been hoping that this will be a Make in India push budget for an Atmanirbhar Bharat and though the FM has highlighted the need to support manufacturing sector, we, The Indian Medical Device Industry are disheartened not to notice any changes in custom duty as done for other sectors and are very hopeful that the fine print of the Union Budget would have possibly acted upon our recommendations on a Predictable Tariff Policy for a Make in India push for Phased Manufacturing Plan for Components and Finished Medical Devices and allocations for Testing infrastructure as well as for Med Tech Parks and Cluster developments. Supporting Policies are needed so that Indian Medical Devices Industry can make quality healthcare accessible and affordable for common masses, aim to place India among the Top 5 Medical Devices manufacturing hubs worldwide and help end the 80-85% import dependence forced upon us and an ever increasing import bill of over Rs. 46000 Crore.

“The only positive announcement was on Public Procurement by allowing 75% prompt payments and bringing in a weighted price preference on account of Quality which is especially critical in healthcare related medical devices.” Concluded Mr. Rajiv Nath.

Suresh Vazirani
Founder Chairman
Transasia-Erba International Group of Companies

“As India celebrates ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mohatsav’, the union budget created a blueprint for India’s sustainable development and laid a vision for India @100 years. The proposal to focus on developing tier II and III cities will lead to more balanced development. We also welcome the announcement regarding digital payments.
For the healthcare sector, the budget emphasized on creating an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem, consisting of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities.

Further, the Government’s focus on digitization in healthcare, should give rise to integration of digital technologies such as AI/ML in the equipment and digital data management. In the long run, it will bridge the gap between physicians and patients or between two physicians, especially in remote areas.
From a manufacturers’ perspective, our Finance Minister announced a soon-to-be-introduced new legislation which will replace the Special Economic Zones Act. This is anticipated to give a boost to the development of enterprises and hubs and enhance competitiveness of exports. Hopefully, there will be a lot in store for the Indian manufacturers of medical devices and will give a further push to Making in India for the World.

However, the medical devices industry was looking forward to some crucial reforms to encourage Make in India efforts for affordable healthcare at these times of the pandemic. In that respect this budget has given very confusing signals. On one side, it is good that several duty exemptions have been done away with. But on the other side, on several medical devices, the import duty has been reduced. That will surely kill their local manufacturers. Is that what the Hon. FM wanted?
The diagnostic industry especially was hopeful that the government would announce an increase in the PLI for the industry from current insignificant rate of 3-5% to 15%. This would have made Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investment in the areas of core competency and cutting-edge technology; ensure efficiencies; create economies of scale; enhance exports.

I reiterate that making healthcare affordable for citizens needs Government support. And this can only be possible through Make in India medical devices.
As an industry leader, I had expected more emphasis to be given to the healthcare sector in the Union Budget and some reforms to be made such as reduction in GST, introduction of a Development Linked Incentive (DLI) to encourage R&D and reduction in the import duty on raw materials.”

Dr. Shravan Subramanyam
Managing Director, Wipro GE Healthcare
President & CEO, GE Healthcare – India and South Asia

“The Union Budget 2022-23 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took a comprehensive, growth-oriented approach.

With a big push for capex which has been increased from INR 5.54 lakh crore to INR 7.50 lakh crore, we look forward to this providing fillip for improving health facilities and hospital infrastructure & access in the country. The open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem will not only encourage people to buy health insurance but will also widen the access to quality healthcare.

The launch of the National Tele Mental Health Program represents a progressive step towards recognizing and acting on mental health issues, especially considering the emotional toll that Covid-19 has taken on people. The government’s focus on holistic health encompassing physical as well as mental well-being is the right step towards a strong health system.

We also recognize and applaud the government’s efforts towards a digitized healthcare system that is well-aligned with the National Digital Health Mission. We endeavor to scale technologies to aid safe, effective, and efficient care as the healthcare sector embraces the digital revolution. Partnering in India’s journey towards affordable, quality healthcare access for all remains on our agenda.”

Dr. GSK Velu
Chairman & Managing Director
Trivitron Healthcare and Neuberg Diagnostics

As expected, Budget 22-23 was a balanced effort to improve overall economic growth. Today, the healthcare sector in India is at a much stronger position than ever before. Measures introduced in Budget 2022-23 will further strengthen the healthcare sector while focusing on prevailing challenges.

The rollout of a National Digital Health Ecosystem will ensure that all segments of the society are able to access affordable and adequate healthcare in a seamless and efficient manner. Such an ecosystem can potentially make universal healthcare a reality for India.

Further, the fact that mental health counselling and care services found a place in the budget is a testament to how far we have come as a country. Inarguably, the Covid pandemic has adversely affected the mental health of the population at large. Thus, the launch of a National Tele Mental Health program can play a catalytic role in both normalising conversations around mental health as well as ensuring that people are able to seek support for mental health related challenges.

Though there was not much for the medical devices industry directly in the Budget, the industry will benefit from the Government’s increased focus on healthcare. The National healthcare mission outlay has been kept at ~37,000 crores like previous year and this is a bit disappointing, considering the fact our healthcare infrastructure needs big boost in the coming years. The demand from all healthcare experts was to increase healthcare outlay in the current budget.

Sunil Khurana

CEO & MD, BPL Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

The recent budget overall was a very coordinated effort by the Government for economic growth of India. It makes me proud of how far along India has progressed in the health care segment, and the budget 2022 proves just that, with the primary focus of the budget speech being on digitization of the health care sector and addressing issues arising due to poor mental health of our citizens, right from senior citizens to young teens – which is a much-appreciated step by the government.

Coming to the MedTech sector, sadly the budget announcement did not cover some critical pain areas which our industry is presently facing; an increase in the health care expenditure in terms of % of GDP being one of them and there was no mention.
In addition, the budget speech did not cover a well-crafted strategy to promote domestic manufacturing of critical live-saving medical equipment & devices as well as export promotion. Also, an expected raise of import duty on medical device categories which are already being made in the country to accelerate the “Make in India” drive of GOI – a step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat.
It was welcome assurances that there will be government support towards R&D for the sunrise industry beyond the academia and policies support to promote “Make in India” initiative.
Since the healthcare industry as a whole is fiercely fighting against the pandemic at the forefront, it would’ve been encouraging if the budget enhanced allocations in certain key areas as well.
Presented Budget’22 has failed to keep up with the assurances those were outlined in last year’s budget to bring healthcare to the next level.

Sanjay Jain

Director, Akhil Systems Pvt.Ltd.

The Govt Decision to roll out an open platform for the national digital health ecosystem integrating health providers , health facities and facilitating citizen to have unique health identity to access universally health care facilities.

These are very big steps and will be game changer for future healthcare delivery , this will also boost health care IT industry to develop , innovate and participate in building this health care eco system.

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Mr. A Ganesan,
Group Vice Chairman, Neuberg Diagnostics

Reduction of sur-charge to 12% on Long Term capital Gains is welcome step. Unintentional errors in Income Tax can be corrected by filing updated return within 2 years from the end of Assessment year – This is a positive change. Department to wait before filing an appeal in higher court in respect of disputes of similar nature with regard to interpretation of law , in case cases of similar nature are pending in Supreme court / other courts – This is also a very good step . Significant increase in Capital expenditure allocation by almost 35% will probably spur economic growth and create jobs. Extension of emergency credit guarantee scheme till 31/03/2023 is a step in the right direction . National Digital Health Ecosystem , National Tele Mental Health Programme – Very god initiatives if implemented well .

Anish Bafna,
CEO & MD
Healthium Medtech

The Healthium Group welcomes a progressive and growth oriented budget for FY 22-2023, under the continued mission of Atmanirbhar Bharat. We are delighted with the government’s initiative for encouraging sunrise sectors like Medtech with the promotion of thematic funds for blended finance. Increased investments in infrastructure will help improve supply chain and aid customer access. Custom duty exemptions on medical devices and revision of tariff structures for manufacturing intermediates will strengthen India’s supply chains for a global hub in medical devices. The open platform for National Digital Health Ecosystem will benefit health providers and care givers with universal access to healthcare facilities. The budget rightly calls out the need for an increased focus on mental health. The launch of the National Tele-Mental Health Service with the support of NIMHANS and IIT Bangalore, will be widely appreciated by the essential services sector.

Mr. Joy Chakraborty
COO, PD Hinduja Hospital & MRC, Mahim, Mumbai

The focus on improving mental health by introducing the National Tele Mental Health Programme is a welcome move in the current times .This should encourage more people to seek medical help for mental health issues and improve the overall well- being of the population. Introducing virtual labs and skilling e-labs to be set up to promote critical thinking skills and a simulated learning environment is a good step. This should help to bridge the skill gap in the healthcare sector, especially in the allied health sciences / paramedical area. Undoubtedly, the internet and the digital landscape have transformed our world. The rolling out of the open platform for the National Digital Health ecosystem is much required and welcome step. It will help boost telemedicine, improve accessibility of healthcare in remote areas. Besides it will also help enhance convenience for patients, since their medical records can be accessed with ease from anywhere. However, security of medical data needs to be taken care of. Further a strong internet with 5G connections will further help to boost the telemedicine sector and make health care accessible to people who live in isolated areas and provide feasible access to medical specialists to connect with patients. The pandemic brought out serious issues and limitations about country’s current healthcare infrastructure , and we would appreciate if there were definate steps announced for strengthening our infrastructure and medical education to have more doctors and nurses. Government expenditure on healthcare needs to increase to about 3% of GDP and there was no mention about this in the budget. More incentives to encourage health insurance could have been introduced. In addition, the healthcare sector needs funds around preventive healthcare, testing, a strong R&D, expanding new technologies, and upgrading the services to reduce the overall disease burden.

Jatin Mahajan
MD – J Mitra & Co
Jt Coordinator (IVD) @ AiMeD – Association of Indian Medical Devices Industry

We are dismayed by the Union Budget 2022 completely overlooking the fair expectations of the MedTech industry.
There has been a lot of focus on future-speak – with elaborate mentions of digital and infrastructure, but the existing concerns of MedTech industry have been completely neglected.

The diagnostics industry forms the backbone of the fight against the pandemic, and accounts for 70 percent of all therapeutic decisions. And yet, the following long-standing woes have not been addressed in spite of yearly promises

– Current Custom duty structure designed to favour imports
– Inverted duty structure, which is higher for raw materials and lower for finished goods – favouring finished goods import instead of import of raw material and domestic production.
– Rational reduction of GST from 18 pc to 12 pc, considering we are essential services and not luxury services

The existing policies continue to favour import of MedTech solutions. It is against the much-hyped Aatmanirbhar Bharat agenda, and this will continue to keep us dependent on foreign MedTech products.

The budget is absolutely silent on ways and policies to boost domestic R&D in MedTech / healthcare segment.
As a nation, we are currently 80 per cent dependent on imported MedTech solutions (accounting for imports worth 4600 crores), and there has been no move to change this dependency. We are unable to boost domestic jobs and earn foreign exchange. We actually have the potential to emerge as a strong global manufacturing hub for the MedTech segment.

The overall healthcare allocation has been increased to INR 2.23 lakh crore, and more details are still awaited to provide any clarity on how (and if), they will have any impact on the MedTech industry.

Jitin Bhasin
Founder, SaveIN

“Union Budget 2022 is extremely progressive and forward-looking in nature. Especially for startups, the tax exemption to eligible startups, incorporated before 31st Mar, 2023 is going to provide much-needed cashflow boost to startups in their formative years.
“Setting up of an Open platform under the National Digital Health Ecosystem is a welcome move and much needed with an aim to accelerate digital health push. The fintech sector has a decisive role to play in furthering accessibility and affordability of healthcare products and services. Overall, budgetary provisions look progressive.”

Mr. D V S Soma Raju
Executive Director
SLG Hospital

“India and the World is still amid a pandemic that wreaked havoc in the lives of people and to the economies across countries. While the existing healthcare machinery in India stood up to the challenge and did its best to keep a possible disaster under check, this sector needed a fresh impetus to enhance and strengthen the healthcare net across India. Finance Minister in her Union Budget speech announced levy of “Health & Education cess” for the year 2022-23; but did not specify where this additional money would be utilized. I strongly feel Government must directly invest or encourage more private investments in the healthcare sector to ensure semi-urban and rural locations receive quality healthcare facilities. Government must also encourage digital health avenues to spread operations across the length and breadth of the country.”

Dr. Harshit Jain
Founder and Global CEO
Doceree

”The high point of the budget is its focus on mental health. It shows the government’s commitment towards creating a holistic health environment. The pandemic has had a visibly damaging impact on the mental well-being of people. The situation got compounded as there was another epidemic we were facing simultaneously – the mental health epidemic which was global in nature. The proposed national tele-mental health programme will create a supportive environment for people to talk about emotional issues they counter on a day-to-day basis and help remove the stigma that we have around mental and emotional problems. Also, the decision to create an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem is yet another move to digitize healthcare in the country which surely has a far-reaching impact on making quality healthcare accessible to all”.

Ms. Mythri Macherla
Assistant Vice President & Sector Head
Corporate Sector Ratings, ICRA Limited

“Given that one-time healthcare costs during the second wave of Covid-19 are expected to have bumped up the expenditure in FY2022 and assuming that there are no severe waves in FY2023, the increased allocation (growth of 16.1%) as against the FY2022 budgeted estimates is a welcome move. While allocation towards National Health Mission continues to remain flattish, an increase in allocation towards Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission is expected to increase health coverage in FY2023. That said, continuing modest allocation towards the healthcare sector would make it challenging for the Government to meet its target of public sector healthcare investment of 2.5% of the GDP by 2025.”

Shaina Ganapathy
Head of Community Outreach
Embassy Group

“As the country’s collective attention is focused on the 2022 Budget, we at Embassy are eager to see some much-needed policies in the fields of education and health come into place. The finance minister began on a hopeful note by saying that India’s economic growth is estimated to be at 9.27 percent in FY22, highest among all large economies.

Considering the heightened need for more emphasis on training and skill development, we are happy to note that the government will be reorienting Skilling programs and launching a digital DESH e-portal for the skilling, upskilling and reskilling of India’s youth. With over 12 million people joining the Indian workforce annually, these measures will surely strengthen the next generation of blue and white-collar employees and contribute to the growth of the Indian economy through an upskilled workforce.

As schools shut down time and again to keep the virus at bay, children, particularly those from underprivileged communities, have lost almost two years of education – the pandemic has had an untold adverse impact on the education system. We are pleased to hear that to provide supplementary education and build a resilient mechanism for education delivery, the government will set up a digital university to provide students access to education. The ‘One class, one TV channel’ programme under PM e-Vidya will be expanded from 12 to 200 TV channels and allow states to provide education to students of classes 1-12 in regional languages.

The budget also includes improved access to healthcare with an open platform for the national digital health ecosystem to be rolled out, along with the launch of a National tele-medicine programme. This go a long way to improving access to healthcare for people in various communities, including those in remote areas.

At Embassy Group, we aim at creating lifelong resilience to illness and disease with end-to-end healthcare interventions for Government School students and in strengthening the existing healthcare infrastructure of our nation. We’ll see long-term growth in this crucial sector with the Government focusing on comprehensively building an ecosystem where health services are accessible for everyone.

Considering our current climate crisis, The Jal Jeevan Mission that was launched in August 2019 to provide safe drinking water to all rural households by 2024, has been allocated 60,000 crores in the 2022 Budget. The Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide potable water to 3.8 crore households in 2022-23. The budget also includes funds for a Solar push; to boost domestic manufacturing of solar power equipment and subsequently benefit solar power generators. It’s heartening to see these steps taken towards a more sustainable future. We look forward to seeing our country reach greater heights with the aid of these provisions that the 2022 Budget provides.”

Subhamoy Dastidar
Director, AtEase

“As a strong ally of mental health, it’s gratifying to see that mental health has got a rare mention in Union Budget 2022-23. This shows the government’s acceptance and concern towards holistic health and not just physical health which has been brought to the fore by the pandemic. The proposed National Tele-Mental Health program will be indeed a strong step towards supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of individuals, families, and society at large. Post pandemic, especially since 2020 mental health issues are no more considered an urban phenomenon but have spread across small towns in India and need to make mental health services more accessible is bigger than ever.”

Dr. Rana Mehta
Partner and Leader Healthcare, PwC India.

“The pandemic has caused a silent global mental health epidemic. The use of telemedicine to diagnose and treat such patients has proved to be highly effective given the unobtrusive nature of the interaction which also ensures patient privacy. Given the shortage of mental health professionals, especially in rural areas, telemedicine will greatly enhance accessibility for patients requiring psychiatric help.”

Mugdha Pradhan
CEO & Founder, iThrive

As a startup founder, I think this budget is balanced when keeping in mind the long-term priorities in terms of establishing a framework for extending tax benefits to the startup to be incorporated till 23. I see the Digital Health Registry will benefit the population at large. At the same time, the government should address concerns regarding privacy, especially health-related matters. The privacy concern raised by many people is having these centralized databases of health-related records, which are quite vulnerable.

Mental Health Awareness needs more than a Telemental health lane. I strongly feel we need to have a policy or framework to address this issue at the institutional level, rather than just going by the popular sentiment of establishing.

We were expecting some announcements in terms of GST reduction for the healthcare sector covering all wellness-related services, including naturopathic to nutrition, that has not been even considered, which is a disappointment for us.

We are optimistic about the new policies currently. However, we are looking forward to the revised budget speech, which might include certain policies such as GST reduction and making the procedure simpler for ESOP allotment in a startup especially. So we hope the government will come up with a revised policy or announcement on these soon.

Mr. Harminder Singh Multani
CEO, MyDentalPlan Healthcare Pvt. Ltd

The government had placed health care and well-being as one of the six pillars in the Union Budget 2021. With the pandemic still raging, it was expected that the government would continue to keep the sector in the focus and we are happy that it was indeed the case. In today’s budget, the government has announced rolling out an open platform for the National Health Digital ecosystem, which will help various health workers across India. This is in alignment with PM Modi’s vision of the National Digital Health mission. We welcome this move and believe it will help in nurturing good health for all. In Budget 2022, a lot of impetus has been laid on healthcare and mental health, which is a step in the right direction. However, oral health has not got the importance that it deserves. It is a well-established fact that oral well-being is the gateway to overall health. We were hoping that the Hon’ble Finance Minister would address this in the budget 2022 and announce measures to accentuate this sector. One of the ways to do this was to drive faster adoption of dental insurance in the country as we believe that this move would not just help in lowering the cost of treatment but also encourage people to visit a dentist when they need one.

Dr. N.K. Pandey
Chairman and Managing Director,
( recipient of Padmashri and Dr. B. C. Roy Award) Asian Institute of Medical Sciences.

Union budget 2022 appears promising for the healthcare industry with significant structural reforms and greater allocations to health schemes which clearly indicate the government’s commitment towards addressing the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic. However, the industry’s expectations of accelerated public spending and the funding target of 2.5% GDP seem to be achieved by 2023 only.

The industry lauds rolling out of an open platform under the National Digital Health Ecosystem as it will go a long way in achieving the goal of universal health coverage. The cases of depression and anxiety disorders witnessed an increase of about 25% globally, and by 35% in India alone. It is encouraging to note the government’s attention to addressing the challenge of rising mental health issues in India and proposed to launch a National Tele Mental Health Programme. The budget inculcating the fact that focusing on mental and emotional wellness is the need of the hour, itself talks about how progressive we are becoming in our approach as a nation.

Rajneesh Bhandari
Founder, NeuroEquilibrium

Mental ill-health can have devastating effects on individuals, families, and society, and the Covid 19 pandemic has triggered an exponential rise in mental health issues, with a large number of people reporting anxiety and depression. Therefore, the Finance minister’s announcement of rolling out a national tele-mental health program is a welcome step. As per the budget announcement, the telehealth program will be operated by a network of 23 mental health centers of excellence under NIMHANS and tech support by IIIT, Bangalore.

Niti Aayog had issued the telehealth guidelines in March 2020, which are amongst the most progressive in the world, and today’s announcement will further strengthen the telehealth ecosystem in India. Economics and mental health are intertwined, and a reduction in mental health issues will lead to a more productive and happier population.

Dr. Gayatri Kamineni,
COO, Kamineni Hospitals

The Union Budget is a progressive one that holds the potential to tackle the economic challenges faced by the country in the post-COVID period. It is heartening to see Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s focus on sectors like Health, including Digital Health Ecosystem and Mental Health and Wellbeing.

The FM’s announcement of the National Digital Health Ecosystem is laudable. The open platform that will consist of digital registries of health providers, health facilities, unique health identity, and universal access to health facilities, will go a long way in providing quality and on-demand healthcare to the country’s people.

Realizing the tremendous pressure piled on the minds of the people of India due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FM’s announcement of the National Tele Mental Health program couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.

We welcome the Union Budget for the financial year 2022-23 and look forward to working with the government and all stakeholders to bring quality healthcare to the people of India.

CDR Navneet Bali,
Regional Director, Narayana Health, North

The only way to democratize healthcare is to make it accessible which is clearly seen in the budgetary push through telehealth and the digital health ecosystem. The benefits seem to be given to the much needed rural sections which lack physical infra and superspecialist doctors – while the urban population has easy access and spending capability at high end private healthcare institutions, the rural segment lack both which could be addressed through detailed healthcare budget allocations. Healthcare accessibility in Rural areas Is clearly seen as the long term aim of the government is a welcome step which is seen through digital adoption. There has been a lot of talk of mental health during covid. The government has taken cognizance and planned setting up 23 Mental Health Centers which is a much appreciated step in the right direction.

Dr. Anand Bansal
Medical Director at Action Group of Hospitals

“Amid COVID 19 pandemic the sudden and unprecedented changes the world had to go through, this budget was keenly awaited especially for the announcements in regards to the health sector. Apart from physical, mental health is also a majorly affected area during pandemic. Addressing the need of the hour the implementation of a national tele-mental health program, which will have tech-support from IIT Bangalore,will give an momentum to mental health issues as the pandemic has accentuated problems of stress and depression in the people. This would undoubtedly improve access to high-quality mental health counselling and treatment services. Also, an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem will be rolled out and it’ll further help in strengthening the healthcare services within the country, still our health sector needs more expenditure and infrastructure development. As per health concerns this budget is satisfactory and full of vision, considering the challenges our healthcare is facing, things will surely need time to reflect results on a larger scale”.

Rajiv Mistry,
Founder & Managing Director
Ascent Group of Companies

“The Government has laid out an ambitious vision for Healthcare. The announcement of the National Digital Health Ecosystem which will be an open platform that will capture all the stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem, backed by a unique health ID will help form a robust network to map and rollout healthcare facilities to all and improve accessibility.
Also, the National Tele Mental Health programme will bring into focus the relegated sector of mental health. It is encouraging to see that mental health will be dealt with at an institutional scale across India, by roping in both NIMHANS and IIIT-Bengaluru for the tech-support.
These key announcements on healthcare will now require a combined push from both Centre and States in terms of co-ordination and effective execution to significantly improve inclusiveness, reach and impact on a pan-India level.”

Dr. Rakesh Gupta
Chairman, Sarvodaya Hospital

“A bold budget that lays down a 25-year roadmap for India to become a truly digital economy. The announcement regarding establishment of National Digital Health Ecosystem is significant. It will make the health sector much more efficient and bring it into the modern age. Mental health has emerged as a silent epidemic in the last few years. Setting up a national tele mental health program to provide counselling and support to patients fulfills an urgent, long-felt need of an overlooked health challenge. Upgrading two lakh anganwadis with better infrastructure will have a positive effect on child health. There is no significant increase in budgetary allocation to health for FY 22-23, which is a bit disappointing considering how the Indian healthcare system struggled to meet the challenge of the epidemic. However, all in all, it is a very well thought out budget that will have a positive impact on the digital and health infrastructure of the country.”

Ajay Sharma,
Co-founder & COO, DESH Clinics

“Truly a bold, forward-looking budget that lays the roadmap to steer the economy over the next decade and turn it into a truly digital ecosystem. It is heartening that the Finance Minister has recognized the importance of telecommunication as a medium of growth of Tele Health in India. The Budget’s emphasis on rapid deployment of optical fibers in underserved geographies, earmarking 5% of Universal Service Obligation fund for affordable broadband and mobile services in rural and remote areas, and roll out of National Digital Health Ecosystem are hugely welcome. This will enable an explosion of tele-health services across the country, connecting patients in rural areas with medical specialists in metros, solving the problem of access.”

Dr. Sudhir Prem Srivastava
M.D. Founder, Chairman & CEO
SS INNOVATIONS

This morning the finance minister announced the budget for 2022 where healthcare is spending has been increased to 2.348 lakh crore and it will be applied to mainly digital health, telehealth, mental health services, and one of the things. I want to emphasize that I think it is great to see an increase in digital health and telehealth will absolutely help but telehealth applications must be across the board. It must be included that there is tele education, telediagnosis, there should be tele therapeutic and gradually we must be decentralized whereby healthcare is brought to all parts of the country. There must be also a significant investment in medical devices because currently, we import, which keeps the healthcare cost very high and not affordable to many of the people within the country. So, I hope these factors will be taken into consideration in the coming years.

Healthcare sector should have gained more priority in Union Budget 2022-2023

Dr. Alok Roy,
Member, FICCI,
Health Services Committee and Chairman Medica Group of Hospitals

“India Inc. and especially the Healthcare industry which has been battling COVID-19 pandemic since last 2 years was expecting more investment on public health and healthcare infrastructure from this year’s union budget. The budget has just focused on mental health and digitization of healthcare sector. The very fact that Government has focused on digital healthcare shows that finally healthcare sector is being considered as the prerequisite to ensure economic well-being of the country. Budget 22-23 seems very disappointing for the healthcare sector. India’s growth is estimated to be at 9.27 percent and healthcare will play a major role in the boost. Strengthening of health infrastructure, speedy vaccination programme implementation has strengthened the Indian healthcare system. The decision to start an open platform for the national digital health ecosystem is a welcome move. The emphasis to roll out digital registries of health providers, health facilities, unique identity consent framework with and universal access to health facilities will add more values to Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. We the healthcare providers heartily welcome the Government’s focus on mental health issues as this has set an alarm across age groups post the COVID pandemic. The announcement of launching the national tele mental health program which will include a network of 23 telemedicine mental health centers of excellence is a much appreciative move that the government has decided.

It was expected the government to look at increasing the healthcare expenditure above 2.5 per cent of the GDP but there was not adequate attention paid to it. Although there had been a rise of 137% allocation in healthcare sector last year much was fulfilled in reality by the government. Overall, the proposals made in the Budget 22-23, should have made quality healthcare accessible and affordable. The government should have focused more on primary healthcare investment and made the Healthcare system as National Priority’ status, as was done for the IT sector.

Dinesh Chauhan,
CEO, CORE Diagnostics

“We congratulate the government for presenting a dynamic budget with a major focus on strengthening the healthcare sector. Budget 22 is visionary and focused on implementing major steps to revitalize the healthcare industry including driving healthcare penetration underpinned by technology thrust and access. The national digital health ecosystem is a strong move to enable equitable access to healthcare services as well as towards creating a robust healthcare ecosystem. The introduction of National Tele Mental health to access quality mental health services is a much-appreciated move, considering the rise of pandemic accentuated mental health problems in India. While there has been no significant announcement related to the Diagnostics sector, it is encouraging to see the government focusing on the PPP model and digital health which will further ensure accessibility and availability of quality healthcare services in remote locations. We will continue to bring significant change in the diagnostics space with our continued investments in developing sophisticated diagnostics for early detection and outcome-based line of treatment for patients.”

Dr. Wasim Ghori
Brand Ambassador – DiaBeaters, India

In today’s budget, the government has announced rolling out an open platform for the National Health Digital Ecosystem with a focus on Mental Health.

These are steps in the right direction showing the government’s commitment to creating a holistic health environment thus, nurturing good health for all. The pandemic has had a visibly damaging impact on the mental well-being of people. The situation got compounded as there was another epidemic we were facing simultaneously – the mental health epidemic which was global in nature.

The proposed national Tele-Mental Health Programme will create a supportive environment for people to talk about emotional issues they counter on a day-to-day basis and help remove the stigma that we have around mental and emotional problems.

On the other hand, we were hoping that the current state of healthcare facilities in the country would have attracted the attention of the government especially when we were struggling with the massive pandemic second wave last year.

Furthermore, we were hoping that the Hon’ble Finance Minister would also address Non-communicable disease burden, care and management among the population of the country with a focus on genome mapping in reducing the risk of lifestyle diseases. Public-Private Partnerships for Genome Mapping projects promoted by the government would have made Indians more aware about their physical makeup, thus helping them in making informed lifestyle choices eventually resulting in the reduction of future medical bills and physical distress.

These would have been important steps for guiding policies and priorities. Unfortunately, we haven’t had any exciting news from the Budget 2022 which we were looking forward to.

Mr.Satish Kannan,
Co-founder & CEO, MediBuddy

“Rising concerns relating to health have been worrisome amongst young individuals and adults alike in the country for quite a while.

The pandemic has only further escalated and triggered these issues, further causing a rise in the same. We warmly welcome the decision taken by the Honourable Finance Minister in the budget to set up a National Tele-Mental Health Programme, to support the mental health grievances of citizens across the country. It is a much-needed initiative that holds the potential to provide assistance and guidance to those who are suffering.

We truly believe that one’s mental health is as important as their physical well-being, and if there is something that’s bothering and affecting them, we want them to know we are here for them. MediBuddy has been a pioneer in the industry at assisting individuals dealing with mental health issues.

We have the teleconsultation infrastructure in place to tackle any health problems and are geared to extend our assistance in any way required to strengthen this initiative. We are confident this will aid in helping people who need support and timely care.”

Attaching a copy of the same along with the company & spokesperson profiles. Also, attaching the spokesperson’s photograph for your reference.

Jesal Doshi
Deputy CEO, B Medical Systems

“With India in the midst of a third wave of the pandemic, healthcare, including digital healthcare, and mental health has been a focus in Budget 2022-23. The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem, which includes digital registries of health providers and facilitates a unique health identity, a consent framework, and universal access to health services. The Finance Minister also stated that 95% of the 112 aspirational districts had made substantial progress in key sectors such as health, nutrition, infrastructure etc. and that efforts would now be focused on areas that were underperforming. We are hopeful that the Government impetus will improve India’s ability to access world-class medical cold chain products while also improving India’s export competitiveness in this industry”

Arnab Basumallik
Director – Government Affairs, Edwards Lifesciences

“We welcome the increased capital expenditure layout from 5.54 L Cr. to 7.5 L Cr . With effective grant-in to the states the capital expenditure can increase to 10.68 L Cr. We expect a good part of it will be spend on building healthcare infrastructure, as per the aspirations of National Infrastructure pipeline – in building 73 state of the art hospitals, tertiary hospitals in every district, secondary hospitals in every sub-division and primary health care and diagnostic centers in block levels. Enhanced expenditure on improving logistics under Gati -Shakti will improve transportation infrastructure which will also benefit the last mile deliverables of medical technologies.

Perhaps the biggest gain for health care medical technologies will be derived from the spent on launch of Aysuman Bharat Digital health mission which will help in keeping un-biased patient data collection and utilization in anonymous form which will help in identifying unmet patient needs, improve patient care and help in future R & D endeavors , as India have a vast genetic pool of patients. We also note emphasis s made on mental health which is a positive development.

On Government Public procurement side, we see adoption of Transparent Quality criteria, 75 % of mandatory payments of running bills, usage of surety bonds instead of bank guarantee and usage of e-bills. We Sincerely hope the same policy will be extended to procurement of medical technologies as well – which will lead to much needed value- based- procurement in health care – which will further improve patient outcome and help achieving ease of doing business. Moreover, we see efforts for adoption of Circular Economy with active public policies on regulation – may help Tier 2 and Tier 3 citi’s aspirational hospitals to get refurbished medical devices.

On the direct taxation and duties, we see that while the duties and cess is reduced for some devices, but the same is enhanced for Dialyzers and X-rays and hearing devices. We request the same can reconsidered, considering patient affordability. We also look forward for the abolishing of Health Cess Ad Valorem on Medical Devices for all devices for increasing affordability especially when 86 % devices are imported.”

Sanjiv Navangul
Managing Director & CEO
Bharat Serums and Vaccines Ltd. (BSV)

“We are encouraged by the recently announced roll out of the open National Digital Health Ecosystem platform that will further augment our country’s digital healthcare journey and create positive patient outcomes with digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity, consent framework and universal access to health facilities. As the country moves towards good health and economic well-being, it is critical to continue to innovate in India and the rest of the world. Today, the booming biotech innovation across the globe along with the accelerated adoption of digital technologies has redefined the contours of healthcare management. To build and grow the research-driven biopharmaceutical industry in India we continue to seek an enabling, supportive regulatory and policy framework that encourages and promotes research in order to bring positive patient outcomes.

Further the Union Budget 2022 outlines ‘Genomics and Pharmaceuticals’ as the sunrise opportunities eligible for a supportive framework to build domestic capacities and promote Research & Development. This is encouraging as we collectively work towards building an Aatmanirbhar Bharat and an ‘Amrit Kal’ for every citizen of the country.”

Mr. Gaurav Gupta
Co-Founder, Navia Life Care- a health tech startup!

We are very excited to see that the Government is intending to enhance the digital ecosystem in the country, more specifically in the healthcare and financial services industries. We applaud the Government’s initiative to roll out an Open Platform for National Digital Health Ecosystem. We sincerely hope and believe that this step will boost the digital health infrastructure in the country and will help thousands of doctors and millions of patients going forward. This is an encouraging step for health tech startups such as Navia who have been the crusaders of digital health and electronic health records.

Mr. Dheeraj Jain,
Founder, Redcliffe Labs & Crysta IVF

“We appreciate the move by the Finance Minister to create an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem that will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities. This will create a repository of all health data which will prove beneficial to track the incidence of various diseases especially during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. It is very welcoming to see how mental health has been given its due importance with the launch of a national tele-mental health programme. This is the need of the hour as the incidence of mental illness has been on the rise in our country. With the ongoing Omicron wave, Ms. Sitharaman also highlighted the importance of vaccination and ‘Sabka Prayaas’- a joint effort to vaccinate one and all. For start-ups specifically, the existing tax benefits which were offered through redemption of taxes for 3 consecutive years will be extended by 1 more year and this will surely provide an impetus for emerging entrepreneurs to participate in the growth of the economy at large.”

Ms. Ameera Shah
Promoter & Managing Director
Metropolis Healthcare Ltd

“India’s growth is estimated to be at 9.27% as mentioned by the honorable Finance Minister of India and it is assuring to see the government’s focus towards women, youth, and rural development. Moreover, in the tough times of pandemic, a strong vaccination campaign, ‘sabka prayas’, has been fruitful to combat the present Omicron wave. I am sure the healthcare system shall hold the fort of public health in the coming times as well.

Much-needed attention is given to ease of access to healthcare services through an open platform of National Digital Health Ecosystem. The aspects of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities should be helpful to align services to demands efficiently. Rightfully adding to this, educational institutions of Bengaluru consisting of the best talents and minds shall be the technical arm.

The initiative taken for Mental Health is welcomed by the healthcare industry. Irrespective of age, gender, and occupation the need for focus on mental health is necessary given the current situation. The National Tele Mental Health program is a positive step to support national mental health counselling and care services.

Moreover, Ministry of Women and Child Development, through their Saksham Anganwadi keep Women and child development at forefront in terms of health, nutrition and required infrastructure. This shall increase the quality of life of our citizens comprehensively. Greater fund and resource allocation to enhancing the healthcare infrastructure both in urban areas as well as in tier 2-3 towns have been prioritized.

The budget also highlighted the importance of Genomics and AI aptly in future. However, a larger push to overall infrastructure, manpower and investments in Public-Private Partnerships which can help in further strengthening the healthcare ecosystem in the country remains undiscussed.”

Mr. Rajit Mehta
MD & CEO, Antara Senior Care and
MD, Max India

“The interests of the seniors have often taken a back seat under government allocation, but unlike past years, there has been an increased focus from the government on the changing needs of seniors this year. Initiatives such as the national Tele Mental Health Programme, National Digital Health Ecosystem, and an increase in NPS tax exemption of 14% from the existing 10% for State Govt. employees give a strong signal that the government is proactively looking at measures to create a conducive ecosystem for seniors. We welcome these steps towards an emphasis on geriatric health and overall lifestyle for seniors.”

Dr. Harish Pillai,
CEO–Metro Pacific Hospital

“In view of the impending series of state elections, it is a remarkable Budget devoid of tempting populist announcements and setting the roadmap for India@100 focusing on the creation of both capital and social infrastructure and setting up a strong foundation for accelerated growth.”

Daniel Mazon,
Vice Chairman & Managing Director
Philips Indian Subcontinent

“We love the idea of an open platform for the national digital health ecosystem as it will further create access to healthcare in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. This move also reaffirms the Government’s commitment to implement digital health solutions that improves patient lives. In line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat program, we also look forward to the government’s support in further ramping up local manufacturing to realize the country’s long-term goals in healthcare. Philips has continuously supported the Government’s Covid-19 efforts and now looks to partner with the Government on digital healthcare transformation.”-

Siddharth Shah
Director, Bharat Rubber Works Pvt. Ltd.

India has been in the category of developing world whereby it had to wait for years before it could begin vaccinating against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Many, especially those our age, are perhaps unaware that there was a time when India used to rely extensively on foreign aid to ensure adequate food supply for its large population.

It was beyond imagination that India would manage to vaccinate a significant proportion of its population within two years of a pandemic outbreak – a historic first that points to the transformation it has witnessed over the years.

There were expectations for more PLI-based schemes but an increase in cargo and a boost in supply chain infrastructure were much needed which were heavily fractured during the pandemic. Also, it will boost in enhancing productivity. They will be key to sustaining this momentum thus accelerating sectoral growth and consolidating India’s position within the global pharma value chain.

It’s the right time to invest and increase production capacity for quantity and quality production.

Mr. Harish Iyer
Head of Finance, Carestream India

Key expectation from budget were ways and means to accelerate healthcare sectoral . This included Increased public spend in health care to 2.5-3% of GDP as envisaged in the National Health Policy 2017, Reduction of GST rate on medical equipment and devices and abolition of levy of cess on imported medical equipments. On this front, the Union budget does not give any clear directions and has no blockbuster announcements. However, welcome measures such as roll out of National Digital Health Ecosystem with digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities & Exemption on certain medical devices and drugs and medicines for which sufficient domestic capacity exists ( fine print awaited to understand this better ) are beneficial measures and would have far-reaching consequences for Healthcare Sector in India.

Dr. Vivek Desai
Founder & MD, HOSMAC

“Whilst one welcomes the FM’s point on creating a National Digital Health Ecosystem which will be beneficial in the long-run and creation of Tele Mental Health centres. However, except for doubling allocation for the Ayushman Bharat from Rs 3199 cr to Rs 6412 cr, there isn’t much stimulus for the healthcare sector. This is surprising as everyone was hoping that healthcare infrastructure creation will get a boost in some way after two continuous years of pandemic that hit the healthcare sector. One may need to evaluate the fine print of health budget allocations to see how the funds have been allocated. India’s glaring need is to create more hospital beds and increased skilling of medical and paramedical human resources to service these beds.”

Dr. Ravi Gaur
Founder, DRG Path labs

The pandemic has caused a fair amount of silent mental health issues. Thus the mental health component of the budget is definitely a welcome step. Continued focus on skill initiatives, tele-health & other digital services will provide much needed boost to the accessibility of healthcare especially in the remote geographies. The announcement of tax reduction for people with disabilities is another positive step. The government should have focused more on primary healthcare investment in preventive health care on priority. A strong push for augmenting tertiary care hospitals, upgrading the existing services and research investments were definitely expected for future readiness. The budget does not hold much to other required essential services in the healthcare sector, including the crucial medical devices and diagnostic industry, which has played a very crucial role in tackling the pandemic. We were definitely expecting a big push towards healthcare spending, at least to the promise of 3% of the GDP .Unfortunately, this still looks a bit of a distant task.

Mr. Sudarshan Jain
Secretary General
Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance ( IPA)

This is India’s first post vaccination budget and the policy consistency is maintained. The planned increase in capital expenditure is likely to boost economic growth and employment. There is a thrust on macro areas like digital, VC-ecosystem, ease of doing business and supportive measures for R&D and industry-academia collaboration with Pharma included in the Sunrise sectors. The extension time limit for the commencement of business to claim benefits of concessional tax regime for manufacturing companies has been extended by a year to 31 March 2024. This will support the investment in pharma manufacturing. Details are being examined and the implementation will be key going forward.

Siraj Dhanani,
CEO and Founder, InnAccel Technologies

As a health and medical device manufacturing MSME Start Up, we welcome the increased focus on employability, e-skilling, employment generation in the MSME sector with an allocation of nearly Rs 2 lac crore for MSME Sector. The fact that there is an emphasis to create nearly 60 lakh jobs.

On the health front we welcome the announcement for an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem that will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities.

Tax incentives for start-ups to be incorporated until March 31, 2023, is also another step in right direction, and we look forward to the government introduced expert committees’ recommendation on regulatory framework for venture capital in the country.

We also welcome governments assistance announcement and acknowledgement that Artificial Intelligence has huge opportunity for sustainability and growth and as an organization will continue of increasing the role, presence, and R&D of Artificial Intelligence in our medical devices and products.

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