Union Budget 2024: Nirmala Sitharaman removes customs duty on 3 more cancer medicines
Nirmala Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year on Tuesday. In the field of medicine, the FM made some significant announcements. She especially spoke about medicines used in cancer treatment and support for cancer patients. For the health sector, Sitharaman announced various programmes on healthcare, pharmaceuticals and medical devices segments.
Sitharaman said that three more cancer medicines will be exempt from customs duty, portrayingthe government's commitment to providing financial relief to patients battling the disease.
"To provide relief to cancer patients, I propose to exempt three more medicines from customs duty," Sitharaman said.
Sitharaman also proposed changes in the Basic Customs Duty on X-ray tubes and flat panel detectors.
"I also propose changes in the BCD, on X-ray tubes and flat panel detectors for use in medical X-ray machines under the phased manufacturing programme so as to synchronise them with the domestic capacity addition," she said.
The changes in customs duty reflect the government's resilience to enhance healthcare affordability and accessibility. It also aims to support local manufacturing and innovation in the medical sector.
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Also Read:FM Sitharaman makes big announcements on Income Tax. Here's all you need to know
Stress on immunisation in interim budget
In the Interim Budget presented earlier this year, Sitharaman had announced extending healthcare coverage to include ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, and helpers under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. She also stressed on the importance of immunisation and talked about rolling out the U-WIN platform at the earliest for managing immunisation. Efforts under Mission Indradhanush, another scheme active since 2014, will also be intensified. Notably, Mission Indradhanush, as part of the Universal Immunization Program (UIP), aims to vaccinate children and pregnant women in low immunisation areas who didn't get vaccinated during routine immunisation.
The U-WIN portal is likely to be launched by the end of August and will act as an electronic registry of routine immunisations. "The portal will target 2.9 crore pregnant women and 2.6 crore infants (0-1 years) annually by providing 11 vaccines against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases -- diphtheria, measles, rubella, and tetanus through more than 1.2 crore vaccination sessions across the country," PTI reported.
Sitharaman's interim budget also mentioned vaccinating girls aged 9 to 14 against cervical cancer.
