Health budget ‘reassuring’, welcomed by industry
March 16th, 2012 - 11:25 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) The healthcare industry Friday welcomed Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s announcement reducing excise duty on life saving drugs and emphasis on preventive health check-ups.
“The budget was reassuring. The finance minister ensured a strong focus on inclusive growth and an equally robust thrust to address the bottlenecks in infrastructure development,” said Prathap C. Reddy, chairman of Apollo group of hospitals.
“Tax exemption of Rs.5,000 for preventive health checks is very encouraging. With ample communication, it would encourage early detection of diseases like cancer, heart diseases and diabetes which are on the rise,” Reddy added.
India’s health allocation was hiked by 14 percent in the budget for 2012-13. Mukherjee proposed to extend concessional basic customs duty of five percent with full exemption from excise duty and anti-subsidy duty to six specified life saving drugs and vaccines used for the treatment or prevention of ailments such as HIV/AIDS and renal cancer.
“Considering the high morbidity rate we have, it is important to have tax relaxation on life saving drugs like Rotavirus. Rotavirus can prevent deaths caused by diarrhoea and this is would be a very good step,” Ajay Bakshi, chief executive officer at the Maxhealthcare group, told IANS.
Said Amol Naikawadi, joint managing director of Indus Health Plus: “The focus on preventive heath check ups will benefit the normal consumer, people working in stressed conditions and people with lifestyle diseases.”
“This is a very positive move which will lead to enhanced awareness of preventive healthcare which is at the state of infancy in India,” Naikawadi added.
The budget also focused on better health services to the poor in rural as well as urban slums, increasing the outlay of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and launching the National Urban Health Mission.
- Cheaper drugs, better health services for poor (Second Lead) - Mar 16, 2012
- Gains and losses from Budget 2012-13 - Mar 16, 2012
- For automobile industry, budget is in neutral gear - Feb 28, 2011
- India approves Rs.200 crore for research on climate change - Mar 16, 2012
- Better health services for poor envisaged (Lead) - Mar 16, 2012
- Prominent highlights of 2012-13 budget - Mar 16, 2012
- Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill - Apr 29, 2010
- 'Budget in right direction but short on growth incentives' - Mar 16, 2012
- NRHM gets higher allocation - Mar 16, 2012
- Mukherjee puts money in one pocket, takes out from others (Roundup) - Mar 16, 2012
- India raises education, health spending (Second Lead) - Feb 28, 2011
- Income tax exemption limit raised to Rs.2 lakh (Lead) - Mar 16, 2012
- Excise duty exemptions from 130 items to be removed - Feb 28, 2011
- Tax hikes to hit household budgets - Apr 01, 2012
- Reformist Indian budget has a bit for all - households to corporates (Roundup) - Feb 28, 2011
Tags: ample communication, apollo group, check ups, chief executive officer, customs duty, excise duty, health budget, health checks, heart diseases, hiv aids, infrastructure development, lifestyle diseases, morbidity rate, national rural health, national rural health mission, pranab mukherjee, preventive healthcare, renal cancer, stressed conditions, urban slums