No mention of health in the Budget on Friday invited criticism from doctors and health activists. A pointed push towards health care was missing although there was a focus on programmes and initiatives bringing indirect benefit to the sector.

Dr. Abhijit More, co-convenor of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, said, “At a time when nearly 150 children have died in Muzaffarpur and there is a rising number of violent attacks on doctors, we were expecting a focus on reforms in the public health care system. The Budget speech did not mention health care even once. This is unfortunate.”

Dr. More said the 2018-19 budget estimate for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was ₹5,4310 crore. For 2019-20, it has been increased to ₹62,559 crore. He said, “There is about 15% increase and most of it goes to the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The allocations are still less for the tasks they want to achieve through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and Health and Wellness Centres.” He said only ₹950 crore has been allocated for urban public health care, which is insufficient for the 45% population living in urban areas.

Dr. Ravi Wankhedkar, former president of the Indian Medical Association, echoed similar views. “If India has to become a superpower, there needs to be more investments in health mainly by the government to deliver affordable, accountable and quality primary healthcare.”

Dr. Wankhedkar said the mention of social determinants of health like drinking water and sanitation were encouraging, but hopes there are more in the details in the fine print of the Budget. In a press statement, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said the importance the Budget accords to the health sector is reflected in the 18.67% increase in the total outlay.

‘Building a healthy India’

Joy Chakraborty, chief operating officer of Hinduja Hospital, said the government definitely has an aim to build a healthy India. He said, “Indirectly, the health care sector is hoping to get a boost from the ₹100-lakh crore investment in infrastructure and the allowance of FDI for insurance intermediaries.”

Mr. Chakraborty said as part of promoting and encouraging the startup ecosystem in India, the government has introduced a slew of ease of doing business initiatives. He said, “This measure is intended to boost entrepreneurship that will promote low-cost, indigenous, innovative models for health care delivery and help in the growth of the med tech industry.”