2020 has been an unusual year for the healthcare sector as the national focus shifted to containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Private hospitals like Saifee were at the forefront of this critical effort in treating patients at very nominal rates as per the BMC notifications. However, our own revenues suffered as other services were affected severely.

Given these circumstances, we would welcome any financial support by the government in the form of concessions in property tax or utility bills. The pandemic also stretched thin our national healthcare infrastructure in the initial period when there was a rush of patients.

According to Mr. Mustafa Daginawala Chief Finance Officer Saifee Hospital, Mumbai health sector needs  an urgent higher budget allocation. In the long-term, we need more investment in R&D, equipment, more hospitals, and in improving the overall infrastructure. In the short-term, we need budgetary allocation for vaccines at exempted or no cost.

The silver lining to this crisis was the much-needed focus it brought to the healthcare sector as the government pushed for affordable testing and treatment for everyone. This budget should reflect these concerns for universal quality care and vaccination for everyone.

Ms. Dipali Mathur Dayal, Co-Founder, and CEO of Super Smelly says  “The year 2020 was tough and a good, strong budget will come as a relief. We hope it is consumption-friendly, leaving more money in the hands of people to catalyze demand in the economy. Moreover, for start-ups, we look forward to the simplification of GST and tax relaxation in ESOPs.”

She further adds, MSME and startups would need government support to revive businesses and to continue to generate employment therefore easy and cheaper access to the credit would certainly bring relief. The personal care sector, in particular, needs steady budgetary support. There is a nationwide movement to transcend from large-scale toxin-based products from international brands to natural, homegrown, and toxin-free brands. Therefore it is important to emphasize the importance of Make In India and vocal for local to strengthen the country’s economy.

Mr. Vishal Kaushik, Co-Founder and MD at Upakarma Ayurveda, says “The healthcare sector is looking forward to more promising announcements from Budget 2021. During the pandemic, PM Modi has given the much-needed push to the domestic Ayurveda sector as he encouraged the world-class R&D enablement and manufacturing capabilities of India.

We are expecting the GST to be brought down from the current 12% which is levied on products that have the license to sell as Branded Ayurvedic Medicines. This will further help with cost reduction and easy accessibility of the product. The government can also look at providing funds for Ayurvedic practitioners and centers, which will further encourage the domestic and offshore investors to put faith in India for new product developments.”

Mr. Kapil Bhatia, CEO, UniMask says “MSME has always been the backbone of the Indian Economy with around 29 percent share to India’s GDP. We expect the government to re-establish favorable policies and allocate substantial funds for the growth of MSMEs. 2020 was a blessing in disguise for MSME industry where the initial most of 2020 was quite brutal but the later half came to the rescue especially with the #boycottchinesegoods campaign and push towards Make-In-India. The MSME sector is hoping to get rid of challenges like lack of access to capital, infrastructure, skilled labor, and power supply issues that plague MSMEs in India. Therefore, Indian entrepreneurs hope that the Union Budget 2021 will provide some long-term benefits to the sector with better access to credit and lenient taxation policies.”

According to Harshit Jain  MD, Founder and CEO, Doceree, The pandemic hit India’s healthcare severely and in spite of waiting until 2015 to reach the target of 2.5% of GDP to be spent on healthcare, the government should eye reaching it in the next two years so that healthcare infrastructure in the country could be improved. It is also high time that the spend is significantly increased, given the population of our country is so huge. Additionally, while universal health coverage is a welcome step and so is the idea of Health IDs, they must not remain on papers and get mired in red tape, facing delays. In the upcoming budget, allocations and timelines should be announced so that they get implemented in an organized manner and we are closer to realizing the vision of making healthcare accessible and affordable. Besides, innovative healthcare startups that are working to promote accessibility and affordability should be encouraged by way tax benefits and tax holidays so that government and private partners can work together to make the condition of Indian healthcare better.

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The Health and Family Welfare ministry on Sunday  issued set of guidelines for recovered Covid-19 patients . The advisory for recovered Covid-19 patients has suggested to include daily practice of yoga, morning or evening walks and a tea spoon of chyawanprash with warm water or milk among other Ayurvedic and Herbal products.

Mr. Vishal Kaushik, Founder and Managing Director, Upakarma Ayurveda (India’s fastest Ayurvedic Brand) has welcomed the move. We were anticipating an increased demand for Ayurvedic/immunity boosting products. Recently we have launched the range of 11 (immunity) products that includes Amla Juice, Aloe Vera Juice, and Tulsi Giloy Juices; Amla, Drops, Giloy, Ginger and Tulsi Drops along with Chyawanprash and Ayush Kwath. 

He added, “After the Health Ministry’s advisory we expect sales of our products to rise further and we are also ramping up our production. During Covid, we have been witnessing 55-60% month on month demand for immunity boosting products. Our multi-dimensional value proposition and D2C strategy has also led to 100% year-on-year growth since the inception in 2017”.

According to Ms. Aarti Gill, CO-founder of OZiva, pioneers in clean plant based nutrition startup,  there is an increase in demand for products like Plant Based Immunity Booster with almost 3x growth in sales since its  in June. “OZiva has always believed in and promoted a holistic and clean lifestyle. This includes a clean, plant based diet for nutrition and yoga/exercise for mental and physical wellness. We have seen increased awareness for adopting this lifestyle post Covid.

She adds, “Since our products are based on modern sciences and the wisdom of ancient Ayurveda, customers are constantly coming to us for products that will help improve immunity and overall well-being.  While we continue to follow the mandatory social distancing norms and other rules, it’s also important to focus on overall fitness and well-being using these lifestyle changes.”

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Solidifying its commitment towards providing premium natural products for health and wellness, Upakarma Ayurveda, India’s fastest growing Ayurvedic brand that fulfills everyday wellness needs with Ayurvedic wisdom, is now expanding its product portfolio. As the focus on staying healthy has increased manifold during the pandemic, Upakarma Ayurveda has launched a bespoke range of immunity-boosting products.

Upakarma Ayurveda’s immunity-boosting range:

The newly-launched products include:

1. Immunity-boosting juices (Amla Juice, Aloe Vera Juice, and Tulsi Giloy Juice)
2. Immunity-boosting drops (Amla Drops, Curcumin Drops, Giloy Drops, Ginger Drops, Tulsi Drops).
3. Premium quality Chyawanprash with the goodness of 30+ herbs and spices such as Amla, Cinnamon, Pippali, Laung among others.
4. Shilajit Liquid
5. Ayush Kwathwhich is the ultimate Kadha with natural ingredients such as Tulsi, Cinnamon, Black Pepper & Saunth.

Upakarma Ayurveda’s immunity-boosting range is available within the price range of 399 INR to 999 INR on all major e-commerce portals along with its website www.upakarma.com. All new products are also available at major offline stores across India. The brand will further create offline and online distribution channels through its website, offline stores, e-commerce portals, etc, to gain maximum traction for its top-notch products. Apart from best-in-class formulations, the brand has also focused on premium and functional packaging for its new products. Each of the products has undergone months of in-depth R&D by industry experts to formulate the ultimate immunity builders.

Speaking on the launch, Mr. Vishal Kausik, Founder, Upakarma Ayurveda, said, “At Upakarma Ayurveda, we are proud to have created a significant mark and earned our customers’ trust. This gives us further impetus to continue innovating premium quality Ayurvedic products. We believe that Ayurveda holds the answers to all health and wellness issues of the modern times, and likewise, our immunity-boosting products will help individuals boost their immunity to tackle the ongoing global situation with the confidence of good health.

The global immunity-boosting food products market has been valued at USD 15.4 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.6% till 2025, according to Market Research Future. We, at Upakarma Ayurveda, are trying to tap a significant chunk of this fast-growing market with the launch of 11 immunity boosting products.” Since its inception in 2017, Upakarma Ayurveda has seen a steady increase in the demand for its products, especially Ashwagandha, Pure Shilajit Resin Form, Kashmiri & Afghani Saffron and Sweet Almond Oil.

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