Social sector groups on Tuesday demanded doubling of allocation towards the health sector and higher rate of sin tax on tobacco products and alcohol in the 2016-17 Budget. In their pre-budget meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, representatives from social sector sought allocation under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) be increasedby Rs 5,000 crore and spending of 10 per cent of the GDP on the education sector. HelpAge India Board member Mathew Cherian said the Government should develop health facilities on a mission mode to make it more meaningful on the ground and inclusion of older persons in employment guarantee schemes like MNREGA.
“Most of the suggestions centred around social security schemes and Rashtriya Bima Yojana. We have asked for Rs 5,000 crore additional funds under MNREGA, because there was drought and no work for poor people,” Cherian said. The representatives also asked to double spending on healthcare to match global standards.
“Right now spending on health is 1.2 per cent. It should be at least 2.5 per cent,” Bhavna Mukhopadhyay, Chief Executive Voluntary Health Association of India, said. They highlighted that India has one of the lowest per capita investment in health sector and is facing danger from both communicable and non-communicable diseases.