Budget 2022: Time to bolster public healthcare, increase allocation
India Today
An ASSOCHAM survey has noted that healthcare would receive the maximum priority in the ensuing Union Budget in the wake of continuing challenges posed by Covid 19 and the imperative need for scaling up public health infrastructure.
The Covid-19 pandemic has underlined the significance of having a robust healthcare system in the country. The healthcare sector, which has proven to be a shield against the pandemic since 2020, seeks increased outlays in expenditure in the upcoming Union Budget 2022.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget 2022 speech must make provisions for investment in research and innovation in medical science, and provide funds for the development of suitable resources to strengthen the monitoring mechanism of the public health system as a whole, said Dr Alok Roy, Chair, FICCI Health Services Committee and Chairman, Medica Group of Hospitals.
MAXIMUM PRIORITY ON HEALTHCARE
An ASSOCHAM survey has noted that healthcare would receive the maximum priority in the ensuing Union Budget in the wake of continuing challenges posed by Covid 19 and the imperative need for scaling up public health infrastructure.
Around 47 per cent of the respondents in the ASSOCHAM survey opined FM Sitharaman must pay attention to healthcare in her Budget for 2022-23. MSMEs, energy and infrastructure and technology followed the expectation chart of the ASSOCHAM survey done amongst 400 respondents across 40 cities from different sectors.
BUDGET ALLOCATION MUST INCREASE
The Central government's budget allocation to the healthcare sector should be increased to at least 2.5 per cent of the GDP, Roy said.
