Varaprasad Reddy blames Centre for Covid crisis

HYDERABAD:  Shantha Biotechnics founder-president Dr KI Varaprasad Reddy on Tuesday expressed concern over lack of government support for research to come up with lasting solutions to crises that are triggered by the likes of Coronavirus.

Speaking to Express, he said that government had consistently failed to accord priority to healthcare.

“Had public health been a priority, we  would have had a better infrastructure by now. The budget allocation for public health in India is a mere 4.2 per cent of the budget, of which the Centre bears only 1.6 per cent. In other countries, it is a whopping 15 per cent,” he said. 

He finds fault with the government for not bestowing any incentives on companies for research, and points to the fact that no rebate is being given in Income Tax on money spent on R & D. This has led to poor facilities for research. “When a calamity of Covid-19 dimension hits the country, the government, in a knee jerk reaction, comes forward allocating up to Rs 3,000 crore. How can one justify this,” he asks.