Imported medical devices to cost more

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 1

Ahead of a potential new legal regime for India's nascent medical device industry, the government today created a “Make in India” roadmap for the sector with the Union Budget proposing to make imported devices costlier.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced customs duty on imported medical devices as a measure to boost the local industry which has been seeking hand holding for many years now.

The nominal health cess on imported devices like cardiac stents, orthopedic implants, pacemakers and other implants, will discourage imports and create a competitive market for local manufacturers.

“Our policy of ‘Make in India’ has started giving dividends. India is now making world class goods and exporting such products. We have made considerable progress in medical equipment too. Till a few years ago, we were dependent on imports for medical equipment. Now not only we are manufacturing medical equipment but also exporting them in large quantities. This sector deserves further fillip. To give impetus to domestic industry and generate resources for health services, I propose to impose a nominal health cess by way of a duty of customs on the imports of medical equipment keeping in view that these goods are now being made significantly in India. The proceeds from this cess will be used for creating infrastructure for health services in the aspirational districts,” the FM said.

The health sector allocation as a whole today saw a nominal raise by 8 per cent — from Rs 62,659 crore to Rs 68, 011 crore. This is inclusive of Rs 6,400 crore for the government’s flagship Ayushman Bharat project which assures cashless hospitalisation up to Rs 5 lakh annually to 10 crore poor and vulnerable families.

The thrust of Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana now will be to set up more hospitals to cover larger ground. The Budget speaks of setting up hospitals in 112 aspirational districts with priority in districts that currently don't have hospitals empanelled under PMJAY.

"Presently, under PM Jan Arogya Yojana there are more than 20,000 empanelled hospitals. We need more hospitals in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities for poorer people under this scheme,” the FM said. In the first phase, those districts will be covered where presently there are no Ayushman Bharat empanelled hospitals. The government also hopes to create employment in the process.

Enhanced health budgets will go into fighting tuberculosis of which India is the world capital. The government has committed to ending TB by 2025. Additional monies will also go into setting up new Jan Aushadhi Kendras in all Indian districts to offer 2000 medicines and 300 surgicals at lower costs by 2024. Current government health spend is barely 1 per cent of the GDP. India's new health policy talks of raising public spending on health to 2.5 per cent by 2025.

New hospitals for 112 aspirational districts

• The Budget speaks of setting up hospitals in 112 aspirational districts, priority to be given to districts that don't have any hospitals empanelled under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana
• It proposes to set up viability gap funding window for establishing in PPP mode the new hospitals in the aspirational districts
• Additional monies will also go into setting up new Jan Aushadhi Kendras in all Indian districts to offer 2,000 medicines and 300 surgicals at lower costs by 2024

8% Raise for health sector

2020-2021 Rs68,011 crore

2019-2020 Rs62,659 crore

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.