Union budget 2020-2021: Reactions from health care industry. As the government has just concluded the Union Budget 2020, on the government’s healthcare initiatives, industry says it is definitely a positive step towards India’s goal to revive its healthcare sector.
Padma Shri Awardee, Dr K K Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI), Editor-in-Chief IJCP Group and Medtalks.in:
Among the huge expectations surrounding the union budget 2020, there have been some good measures taken by the government. The finance ministry has proposed INR Rs 8,000 crore outlay over 5 years for the National Mission of Quantum Technology and Application. The allocation of INR Rs 69,000 crore for the health sector comes at a time when emphasis on this segment is pertinent. With a holistic vision of healthcare, Mission Indradhanush has been extended to cover new diseases and vaccines. This is a good move considering the rise in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases and new epidemics. The PPP mode hospitals to be set up in 112 aspirational districts is also a welcome step. Access to quality and affordable healthcare is the need of the hour and expansion of the Jan Aushadhi Kendras in all districts of country will help achieve this.
The government also aims to strengthen the TB Harega, Desh Jeetega campaign to end the prevalence of the condition by 2025. Air, water, and sanitation are three issues which need immediate attention in the country. We are happy to see that allocation towards all three has been adequate and that provision of clean air is one of the primary motives of the government.
There is a shortage of qualified medical doctors both general practitioners and specialists; it is proposed to attach a medical college to a district hospital in PPP mode. This is also a positive budget for the medical devices industry. The imports of medical devices will be taxed to fund capacity building in healthcare delivery. This will have the twin advantage of accelerating manufacturing of medical devices and addressing the national healthcare security concerns.
Neha Rastogi, Founder and COO-Agatsa, Innovator of world’s smallest and leadless ECG machine:
Being a Medtech startup in India we are very happy with the budget since it is not only startup friendly and brings a lot of reforms under the Make in India and Digital India programmes to boost entrepreneurship but it also puts emphasis on home-grown medical devices. The move to increase tax imports of medical devices to put more impetus on domestic medical device manufacturers will not help fund the capacity building of the healthcare sector. Introduction of ESOP tax reforms will help attract bright talent to join more and more startups. The focus on AI and proposal of building digital data centres will help increase R&D in AI, Big Data, iOT etc. We welcome the five-year tax holiday for startups. The move to set up an investment clearance cell for entrepreneurs to manage end to end activities including funding assistance through a portal is welcome.
Introduction of quasi equity based debt funding will help a lot in terms of funding of startups and provide working capital to them which they always need the most.The ministry has also proposed a scheme to encourage the manufacturing of mobile phones, semi-conductor packaging and electronic equipments in India which will boost more and more product and manufacturing startups in India. We now need to see now how the government will actually help home innovations like Sanket Life by incorporating them in schemes like Ayushman Bharat towards the aim of healthcare for one and all.
Mr Vikas Bagaria, Founder, Pee Safe, India’s premium sanitation and personal care brand:
The budget this year is directed towards the middle class and the startup sector, something that is encouraging for ventures like Pee Safe. The first encouraging point mentioned was the increase in the threshold limit from INR 25 crore to INR 100 crore in terms of tax paid on profits incurred. Apart from this, ESOP will not be taxed at the employee end at the end of 5 years or when they sell them. This is an extremely welcoming announcement. The government has also increased the MSME threshold limit for auditing.
We are also encouraged to see increase in allocations towards cleanliness, sanitation, wellness. The fact that they form a part of the theme for Aspirational India is welcome and indicates that the government accords priority these sectors. The Swachch Bharat program has helped build toilets and improve hygienic conditions at the grassroots, a key factor for us at Pee Safe. We hope that with the strengthening of such programs, menstrual health is also brought to the forefront. The government also aims to create more startup owners by setting up an investment clearance cell. Through a single portal, many challenges and doubts will be resolved, and they will also be offered funding assistance. Overall, it is a very positive budget and we look forward to implementation of the policies now.
Saurabh Agarwal – Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Medlife.com :
This budget has been a pro health and we are encouraged to see policies around seamless delivery of services through technology, a holistic vision for healthcare and the move towards expansion of Jan Aushadhi Kendras in the country. The extension of Mission Indradhanush to cover new diseases and vaccines also comes at a time when India is witnessing a rise in the incidence of various health conditions and newer epidemics. However, the lack of any clarity around the e-pharmacy sector and a regulation for the same has come as a dampener. This sector has the potential to realize the government’s vision of access to affordable and quality care. Given this, we hoped to see some policies for the online pharmacy segment.
Mr. Sushant Raorane, Co-Founder , Director, Adroit Biomed.
“A holistic effort by the government to facilitate ease of living and ease of doing business, the 2020 budget comes as a hope for the stagnant economy. With an allocation of INR 69,000 Cr. for the healthcare sector and INR 35,600 Cr. for nutrition-related programs, health and wellness have received due attention in the budget. Apart from the healthcare, promoting entrepreneurship and facilitating easy tax structures for business, strengthening the infrastructure and cold chain logistics as well as focus on skill development, are all areas that will hugely benefit the nutraceutical sector in India. As entrepreneurs in the nutraceuticals space – a promising sector with huge growth potential, I see tax policies like reduction in corporate tax for companies to 22%, removal of DDT and simplified return for GST is being introduced from April 2020, as impactful initiatives that will help drive business.”
Mr. Chander Shekhar Sibal, Senior Vice President, Fujifilm India :
“We congratulate the government on presenting the Union Budget 2020 for the common man and it’s encouraging to see that the government has taken the lead to deliver on its promise of excellence in healthcare. The government’s “TB Harega, Desh Jeetega” initiative to eradicate tuberculosis by 2025 is a significant step towards building a healthy Society. India being the highest recorder of TB cases in the world makes it imperative for us to understand the high risk of catching the disease. The government’s vision aligns with our mission to raise consciousness and promote advanced diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis among patients.
Additionally, the government’s impetus on boosting the domestic manufacturing of electronics and medical devices in the country will reinforce the commitment towards raising awareness for early detection in India. Apart from this, the announcement to boost Artificial Intelligence is a great step to strengthen the usage of technology in the field of healthcare while intensifying the quality with accessibility and affordability. We believe that the government has put forward a progressive budget with a strong vision to take India’s social, economic and overall well-being to greater heights.”
Ms Meena Ganesh, MD & CEO, Portea Medical, India’s leading consumer healthcare brand:
The allocation of INR 9,000 crore for senior citizens in the budget will be a boon for both the elderly and companies working for their benefit if used in a timely and proper manner. The allocation for skill development of teachers, nurses, paramedical staff and caregivers is encouraging and will help improve the standard and quality of care in India’s public health system. While an increase in the import duty of medical devices will help the homegrown medical devices sector flourish, it may negatively impact those living with chronic conditions in the immediate future. Amid the fear of new epidemics around the world, the move to leverage AI and ML for developing a preventive regime for targeted diseases is a good step. There was also an emphasis on the next wave in the digital revolution for the seamless delivery of services in different sectors. It is encouraging to note that the government has a holistic vision of healthcare.
The move to set up PPP mode hospitals in areas where there are none is positive, with priority being given to 112 aspirational districts. Although an additional INR 69,000 crore has been allocated to the health sector, we hoped to get some clarity on how this fund will be divided across different domains in healthcare. We hoped to see some clarity around the home healthcare sector and its formalization, which was completely missing.Overall, we have seen some pro-development policies in the budget this year and are also happy to see that healthcare was not absent from the agenda this time. A financially and physically fitter India will enable better economic growth ahead.
Mr. Sarvesh Shashi, Founder, Sarva:
We welcome the tax deduction on start-ups as this will give startups the financial flexibility to grow their business in a hassle free manner. It will also encourage budding entrepreneurs in their quest to establish their dream ventures and bring about innovations. While these were some positive policies, there were a few disappointments. We hoped that the corporate tax which currently stands at 15% was revisited owing to the economic slump. In addition to that, since Yoga is being promoted in a big way by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, we were looking at a reduction in the tax component on commercially run Yoga establishments such as SARVA.
Mr. Gerald Jaideep, CEO, Medvarsity Online Ltd. :
The 2020 budget allocation for healthcare is perceptibly moderate with a vision of some good opportunities for the medical fraternities and some cons that need to be addressed.The PPP model to deal with the shortage of doctors as proposed in the budget-2020 is going to be substantially beneficial to the Indian healthcare sector. The tie-up of medical colleges with district hospitals for increasing the number of doctors that provide care to the patients will enhance the overall quality of the Indian healthcare ecosystem as this will lead to a greater number of skilled doctors in the Indian medical fraternity.
The penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) as mentioned in the budget is going to bring a revolutionary change in the operations at healthcare facilities. Incorporating technologies in the daily tasks like documentation and approval through all the levels of the hierarchy will help hospital facilities reduce the total time of the patient journey right from the admission to identification of the condition, treatment, and healing. This, in turn, is going to make a significant difference in the overall turnaround time and cost, which will prove to be beneficial to both – patients and the healthcare facilities.
On the nursing front, the ecosystem is going to observe overseas opportunities of jobs as a lot of European countries such as the UK need Indian nurses in their healthcare workforce. However, it is important to focus on educating nurses to overcome the language barrier that they face in foreign nations will need an action plan. Educating nurses in foreign languages will also help them to upskill as they will be able to take up career advancement courses in those languages.
While the budget allocation for healthcare is declared as an over promised INR 69,000 crores, it’s imperative to have a proper plan of action to bring the necessary change in healthcare as targeted in the Ayushman Bharat campaign. The budget also promises a viability gap funding for hospitals and medical colleges to provide doctors with more DNB and FNB courses under the NBE for bridging the skill-gap in the Indian medical fraternity. However, the funding misses on a stern action plan to produce results.Online education degree is poised to get approval; however, it is still actionable only for the top 100 institutions due to which other online education organizations’ contribution to the evolution of healthcare will be limited.
Amit Choudhary, Founder & CEO, Dawaa Dost, India’s number one generic pharmacy chain:
We are happy to see policies with a holistic vision for healthcare and the move towards expansion of Jan Aushadhi Kendras in the country.Allotment of Rs 69,000 crore for the healthcare sector is 10% more from last year and with the extension of Mission Indradhanush to cover new diseases and vaccines, it is definitely a positive step towards India’s goal to revive its healthcare sector.
