Among the many laudable initiatives announced in the budget, what does stand out is the much needed and long-overdue primacy accorded to the healthcare sector, says Ameera Shah, promoter and executive chairperson of Metropolis Healthcare, a leading diagnostic chain across India and Africa.
From setting up of Day Care Cancer Centres in all district hospitals in the next 3 years with 200 Centres to be established in 2025-26 to customs duty relief for several life-saving and cancer drugs or the endeavour last year for centres of excellence in Artificial Intelligence for health, agriculture and sustainable cities and now for education.
For the diagnostics sector, the long pending request to waive the taxes (GST) and customs duties on many crucial chemicals and kits. It still remains a hit for the sector as the entities have to deal with GST and have all the input costs but no offset. In many cases, the customs duties could range between 30 to 60 per cent and any lowering of this could help make healthcare more affordable.
What Shah hopes is that this time, having given primacy to some crucial elements for the healthcare sector, there will be a follow up in terms of execution of the various plans and measures announced. She feels it is crucial to remember that it may not be possible to be a provider for 1.3 billion people. Most countries, she says, are enablers and have the government partner with private healthcare providers to deliver healthcare and India may do well to follow this route too and ensure speedy and real coverage across the country. Also, to ensure that the public -private partnership (PPP) is not just about providing access but also about high quality with enough focus and study on the very designing of the PPPs with standards and clarity on the quality of players who can participate.