Written by Satata Karmakar |Updated : February 1, 2022 6:38 PM IST
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday delivered the Budget 2022-23 with her shortest budget so far with a major focus on the healthcare sector. "We are in the midst of the Omicron wave, the speed of our vaccination campaign has helped greatly. I am confident that with 'Sabka Prayaas', we will continue with strong growth," Nirmala Sitharaman said while opening the budget for 2022-23 for the healthcare sector. Here are some of the key takeaways from the budget session of this financial year.
Here are some of the highlights from this financial year's budget on the healthcare sector. Take a look:
India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam said that an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem will be rolled out soon in the country. It will mainly consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity, and universal access to health facilities.
The government proposed the National Tele-Mental Health program which will be implemented as a strong step towards supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of individuals, families, and society at large. "The pandemic has accentuated mental health problems in people of all ages. To better the access to quality mental health counseling and care services, a National Tele Mental Health program will be launched. This will include a network of 23 tele mental health centres of excellence with Nimhans being the nodal centre and IIIT Bangalore providing technology support," Sitharaman said.
The pandemic has accentuated mental health problems in people of all ages. To better the access to quality mental health counseling and care services, a National Tele Mental Health program will be launched: FM Nirmala Sitharaman #Budget2022pic.twitter.com/pAvtg9PTZd
ANI (@ANI) February 1, 2022
The National Tele-Mental Health Programme will ensure access to quality, standardized & free 24x7 mental health services to all and will play a crucial role in bridging a major gap in access to mental healthcare in the country.#AatmaNirbharBharatKaBudgetpic.twitter.com/gP3iUMVpz8
Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) February 1, 2022
Speaking to the media, Union MoS Health, Dr Bharti Pravin Pawar said, "There was focus on health infrastructure, mental health and other provisions in today's Budget; thankful to PM Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman."
The budget 2022-23 had a real focus on the health sector. We reached out to the experts in the health industry to understand what they think about the newly proposed changes and developments in the healthcare sector. Take a look:
Speaking to TheHealthSite.com, Nikkhil K Masurkar, Executive Director, ENTOD Pharmaceuticals said: A well structured and a forward-looking budget encompassing all sectors and detailed steps for implementation. Healthcare and well-being have received top priority in this budget. The rollout of the National Digital Health Ecosystem that will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity, and universal access to health facilities along with the national tele-mental health program shows the government's commitment towards improving and enhancing healthcare in India. As the future of manufacturing is driven by robotics and other automation technologies, we also appreciate the announcement of PLI schemes to create manufacturing global champions under AtmaNirbhar Bharat. I am hopeful and happy about the changes in healthcare, which is an important area for India. The key is in its implementation."
Dr Veena Aggarwal, Trustee Dr KK's Heart Care Foundation of India said, "The budget for the year 2022-23 has been presented by the Government today. We had great expectations from the budget with respect to an increase in healthcare expenditure particularly because of the Covid pandemic, which has exposed the inadequacies in the public health infrastructure as well as the disparities in the healthcare system. But again, health appears not to be a priority directly, though the government announced the launch of a national tele mental health programme comprising of a network of 23 tele mental health centres of excellence with NIMHANS as the nodal centre in an acknowledgment of the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of the people."
Subhamoy Dastidar, Director, AtEase, said, "As a strong ally of mental health, it's gratifying to see that mental health has got a rare mention in Union Budget 2022-23. This shows the government's acceptance and concern towards holistic health and not just physical health which has been brought to the fore by the pandemic. The proposed National Tele-Mental Health program will be indeed a strong step towards supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of individuals, families, and society at large. Post pandemic, especially since 2020 mental health issues are no more considered an urban phenomenon but have spread across small towns in India and need to make mental health services more accessible is bigger than ever."
Mr. Ashok Patel, CEO and Founder Max Ventilator said, "While the government's announcement in the budget 2022 to accelerate the country's general infrastructure building including connectivity and logistics through Gatishakti would certainly catalyze the broader domestic manufacturing, it must also have positive spillover effects on the medical device segment. The continued policy support to MSMEs by way of extension of ECLGS scheme would also be beneficial to a large number of medical device makers who fall under the MSME category. At the same time, the budget highlighting the PLI scheme in general should also hold value for the medical device sector. The creation of a national digital health ecosystem with focus on mental health would also lead to enhanced business activities."
Harminder Singh Multani, CEO, MyDentalPlan Healthcare Pvt. Ltd said, "The government had placed health care and well-being as one of the six pillars in the Union Budget 2021. In today's budget, the government has announced rolling out an open platform for the National Health Digital ecosystem, which will help various health workers across India. This is in alignment with PM Modi's vision of the National Digital Health mission. We welcome this move and believe it will help in nurturing good health for all. However, oral health has not got the importance that it deserves. It is a well-established fact that oral well-being is the gateway to overall health. We were hoping that the Finance Minister would address this in the budget 2022 and announce measures to accentuate this sector. One of the ways to do this was to drive faster adoption of dental insurance in the country as we believe that this move would not just help in lowering the cost of treatment but also encourage people to visit a dentist when they need one."
Mr. Vikram Thaploo, CEO Apollo Telehealth said, "The government in its last Union budget had placed health and well-being as the first of its six pillars, and with India into its third year into the Covid-19 pandemic, that focus has reflected in this year's Union Budget as well. The launch of the National Tele Mental Health Program which will include a network of 23 tele mental health centres of excellence with Nimhans being the nodal centre and IIIT Bangalore providing technology support is a welcome move by the government to augment the use of telemedicine services as well as provide support to people with mental health disorders. Also, an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem will be rolled out and it'll further help in strengthening the healthcare services within the country. It will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities. The increased investment towards Health Infrastructure and focus on a holistic approach to health is seen as a testimony of the commitment to building stronger health systems in the country."
This is developing news, more details are awaited...
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