Not only has the allocation for the health sector been increased in the Budget, all flagship programmes of the Health Ministry have also got a major boost. But as far as increasing tax on tobacco products is concerned, the Budget has disappointed experts.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has given an additional Rs 4,147 crore allocation to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare compared to the January 2009 interim budget. The allocation for the flagship National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has been hiked by an additional Rs 2,057 crore over and above Rs 12,070 crore in the interim Budget.

For Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, an amount of Rs 350 crore, marking 40 per cent increase over the previous allocation, has been provided. The scheme empowers poor families by giving them freedom of choice for using healthcare services from an extensive list of hospitals, including private ones.

Asserting that all BPL families should be brought under the purview of this scheme, the Finance Minister said the response to the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, which was operationalised last year, had been very good. More than 46 lakh BPL families in 18 states and Union Territories had been issued biometric smart cards.

The total expenditure of the health and family welfare has been increased from Rs 17,307 crore in the interim Budget to Rs 21,113.33 crore. The Department of Ayush has also got an increased allocation from Rs 602 crore to Rs 922 crore. Health research has also been given separate funds since January 2009 interim Budget. While the revised 2008-2009 Budget gave Rs 567 crore as allotted funds, the allocation was increased to Rs 606 crore in today’s Budget.

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