The government will facilitate setting up of daycare cancer centres in all district hospitals over the next three years and 200 of these will be established in 2025-26, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Saturday.
Presenting the 2025-26 Union Budget, Sitharaman said 10,000 additional seats will be added in medical colleges and hospitals next year towards the goal of adding 75,000 seats in the next five years.
She further announced that gig workers will be provided healthcare facilities under PM Jan Aarogya Yojana (PM-JAY) and this measure is likely to assist nearly one crore workers.
The government will facilitate setting up of daycare cancer centres in all district hospitals in the next three years, Sitharaman said. She said, "200 centres will be established in 2025-26 itself."
To provide relief to patients, particularly those suffering from cancer, rare diseases and other severe chronic diseases, 36 lifesaving drugs and medicines are proposed to be added to the list of medicines fully exempted from basic customs duty (BCD).
"I also propose to add six lifesaving medicines to the list attracting concessional customs duty of 5 per cent. Full exemption and concessional duty will also respectively apply on the bulk drugs for manufacture of the above," the minister said.
Specified drugs and medicines under Patient Assistance Programmes run by pharmaceutical companies are fully exempt from BCD, provided the medicines are supplied free of cost to patients, she said. "I propose to add 37 more medicines along with 13 new patient assistance programmes," she said.
On adding seats in medical colleges and hospitals, Sitharaman said, "Our government has added almost 1.1 lakh undergraduate and postgraduate medical education seats in 10 years, an increase of 130 per cent."
"In the next year, 10,000 additional seats will be added in medical colleges and hospitals towards the goal of adding 75,000 seats in the next five years," she said.
The finance minister said medical tourism and 'Heal in India' will be promoted in partnership with the private sector along with capacity building and easier visa norms.
Also, broadband connectivity will be provided to all government secondary schools and primary healthcare centres, the minister said.
The Union Health Ministry has been allocated Rs 99,858.56 crore in the Budget 2025-2026, an around 11 per cent hike over the Rs 89,974.12 crore in the budget (revised estimates) of 2024-2025 with the government announcing setting up daycare cancer centres at all district hospitals over the next three years.
The budgetary allocation for the AYUSH ministry has been increased from Rs 3,497.64 crore to Rs 3,992.90 crore, recording a 14.15 per cent increase.
Of the Rs 99,858.56 crore allocated for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Rs 95,957.87 crore have been earmarked for the Department of Health and Family Welfare and Rs 3,900.69 crore to the Department of Health Research.
Among the centrally sponsored schemes, the allocation for the National Health Mission has been increased from Rs 36,000.00 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 37,226.92 crore in 2025-26. Moreover, the allocation for Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB PM-JAY) has been hiked from Rs 7,605.54 crore to Rs 9,406.00 crore.
