Nirmala’s Prescription For Budget 2025: No Customs Duty For 36-Life Saving Drugs To Med Tourism & Edu Boost

New Delhi: While presenting the Union Budget 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made several announcements for the healthcare sector. Here are some key updates in the healthcare sector:

• • 36 life-saving drugs and medicines for cancer and rare diseases to be fully exempted from basic custom duty, making such medicines cheaper. “Those suffering from Cancer, chronic or other severe diseases; I propose to add 36 life-saving drugs and medicines to the list of medicines fully exempted from basic customs duty,” she said.
  • Sitharaman stated that the government has taken steps to improve access to critical medicines by adding 6 life-saving drugs to the concessional 5% duty slab. Furthermore, full exemption and concessional duty will now apply to certain bulk drugs.
  • 13 new patient assistance programmes to be fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty (where they are supplied free of cost to patients)
  • Drugs for Patients assistance programmes – Pharma companies to be fully exempt from Basic Customs Duty if medicines are provided free of cost

• 10,000 additional seats in medical colleges next year and 75,000 seats to be added in the next 5 years.
• Sitharaman announced that the government will promote medical tourism and ease visa process under the ‘Heal in India’ initiative. “Medical tourism in India to be promoted in partnership with private sector,” she said during her speech.
• The Finance Minister also announced the launch of 200 cancer daycare centres to be set up in government hospitals within 3 years in all districts.
• Gig workers and online platform workers will also be provided with health insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, and this will benefit at least 10 million such workers, added the finance minister
• All primary and secondary government healthcare facilities will get broadband connectivity.