Health Ministry allocated Rs 90,958.63 crore: Here are all the Union Budget 2024 Health highlights

New Delhi: In the 2024-2025 Union Budget, the Union Health Ministry has been allocated Rs 90,958.63 crore, an increase of 12.96 per cent over the Rs 80,517.62 crore 2023-24 revised estimates.

Further, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who tabled the Union Budget 2024-2025 today i.e. on July 23, 2024, announced Custom Duty exemptions on three cancer treatment drugs- Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib and Durvalumab.

However, compared to last year, Health did not get any special mention in this year's Budget and Healthcare was also not included in the nine pillars of 'Viksit Bharat', which was Sitharaman's highlight in her budget speech. These nine pillars include- Productivity and resilience in Agriculture, Employment & Skilling, Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice, Manufacturing & Services, Urban Development, Energy Security, Infrastructure, Innovation, Research & Development and Next Generation Reforms.

Here are the Health Highlights from this year's Union Budget:

Cancer Drugs Made Cheaper: 

In a relief to the cancer patients and their families, the Finance Minister has proposed fully exempting three more cancer medicines from the basic customs duties.

"To provide relief to cancer patients, I propose to fully exempt three more medicines from customs duties," she announced.

For three cancer drugs- Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib, and Durvalumab- the BCD rate was earlier 10%. However, Sitharaman has proposed making it NIL for these three medicines.

Medical Equipment Including X-Ray Devices Made Cheaper: 

Proposing changes in the basic customs duty for X-ray tubes and Flat panel detectors for use in medical X-ray machines, the Union Finance Minister has announced making these medical equipment cheaper than before.

"I also propose changes in the BCD on x-ray tubes & flat panel detectors for use in medical x-ray machines under the Phased Manufacturing Programme, so as to synchronise them with domestic capacity addition," Sitharaman stated.

Therefore, for medical equipment such as X-ray tubes and flat panel detectors (including scientillators) for use in manufacture of medical, surgical, dental, or veterinary X-ray machines, the BCD has been proposed to be reduced from 15 % to 5% till 31.05.2025. Thereafter, 7.5% rate will be applicable from 01.04.2025 to 31.03.2026 and it will be 10% from 01.04.2026 onwards.

More Medical Colleges in Bihar: 

While presenting this year's budget, Sitharaman announced that new medical colleges will be set up in the State of Bihar. She said, "New airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure in Bihar will be constructed."

Saturation Health Approach to Cover All Eligible People: 

Stressing the Government's commitment to all-round, all pervasive and all inclusive development of people- particularly, farmers, youth, women and poor, the Finance Minister announced that "For achieving social justice comprehensively, the saturation approach of covering all eligible people through various programmes including those for education and health will be adopted to empower them by improving their capabilities."

Digital Public Infrastructure Applications in the Health Sector: 

In the case of the services sector, the Finance Minister has proposed developing Digital Public Infrastructure Applications at population scale for productivity gains, business opportunities, and innovation by the private sector.

"These are planned in the areas of credit, e-commerce, education, health, law and justice, logistics, MSME, services delivery, and urban governance," she announced.

It should be noted that in the interim Union Budget 2023, Sitharaman had announced various health initiatives including nursing colleges, innovations in pharmaceuticals, and the medical devices segments.

Also Read: Union Health Budget 2023: Central Govt shifts its focus to nursing college