Union Budget 2023-24: Here's what healthcare sector got from the budget

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023-24 on Wednesday (February 1). The government has described the budget as the first of "Amrit Kaal", which pave the way for the nation to grow and achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to make India a developed country in the next 25 years.

The budget proposed changes to income tax slabs, a steep hike in capital investment, and also a mention of the healthcare sector.

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In the opening remarks of her speech, Sitharaman hailed the country-wide vaccination drive against coronavirus (COVID-19) in unparallel scale and speed.

The finance minister praised India's rising global profile. She noted that several accomplishments, like unique world-class digital public infrastructure for example Aadhar, Co-Win & UPI, are responsible for such significant growth.

The finance minister announced that dedicatedmultidisciplinary coursesfor medical devices will be supported in existing institutions to ensure the availability of skilled manpower for futuristic medical technologies, high-end manufacturing and research.

She added that under health education and skilling, 157 newnursing collegeswill be established in co-location with existing medical colleges established since 2014.

The finance minister addedthat facilities in selectiveICMR labswill be made available for research by public and private medical college faculty and private sector R&D teams for encouraging collaborative research and innovation.

She added that a new programme for research and innovation in pharmaceuticals will be taken up through Centres of Excellence.

Allocation of budget:

Sitharaman announced that the health sector has been allocated Rs 89,155 crore in the Union Budget 2023-24, which is a hike of around 13 per cent over Rs 79,145 crore allocated in 2022-23.

The budget allocation for the AYUSH ministry has been increased from Rs 2,845.75 crore to Rs 3,647.50 crore, which is a 28 per cent increase.

Out of Rs 89,155 crore, Rs 86,175 crore has been allocated to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, while Rs 2,980 crore to the Department of Health Research.

Mission to eliminate Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)

Special mention was given to the mission's launch to eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047. The finance minister said that it will entail awareness creation, universal screening of 7 crore people in the age group 0 to 40 years in affected tribal areas and counselling through collaborative efforts.

What is Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)?

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a genetic condition and is widespread among the tribal population in India and in other vulnerable populations. The Indian Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the tribals aged below 40 will be provided cards mentioning their sickle cell anaemia status. He said they would get pre-marital counselling about the risk of their child getting the disease if they marry another affected person.

After the presentation of the budget, Mandaviya said that the government will take up the eradication of sickle cell anaemia in a mission mode. He also noted that the authorities will conduct massive screening in affected tribal areas for early detection of cases.

"Going forward, the government will also issue cards after screening to tribal persons below 40 years affected by the disease mentioning their sickle cell anaemia status and also provide pre-marital counselling to make the patients aware of the detrimental effects of the disease if they marry another sickle cell anaemia patient and give birth," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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