CNBC-TV18 spoke to Dr Jay Goyal, Director of Surya Eye Hospital, and Dr Anshuman Manaswi, Senior Plastic Surgeon at Nanavati Hospital and Founder of Namaste Health Emergency Healthcare Solutions, two prominent doctors from Mumbai, to understand their expectations and what they hope to see in the upcoming budget.
Dr Jay Goyal believes the Centre must allocate more funds for research and development. “Currently, we are spending only 0.01% of our total healthcare budget on R&D. When we look at the US and UK and the breakthroughs they are achieving through innovation and research, it’s because they are adequately funded. Around 70-80% of the medical equipment we use is imported. Increased R&D spending will reduce this dependence and, in turn, lower our tax burden,” he said.
Dr Anshuman Manaswi remarked, “Budget allocation should be much higher. Although it is increasing by around 12-15% year on year, this is insufficient considering population growth and the backlog in the healthcare sector.” He added, “The budget should focus more on digital healthcare and healthcare platforms. We should aim to become global leaders in providing digital health solutions, just as we did with UPI. We have enough talented individuals, and they should be incentivised with fewer bureaucratic hurdles.”
Dr Goyal further emphasised the need for infrastructure investments, stating, “In the next 10 years, India will have the largest population of people aged over 50 years. We are already the diabetes capital of the world, and as the population ages, conditions like glaucoma and cataracts will become more prevalent. This will require significant spending on healthcare infrastructure in both the public and private sectors to meet the growing demand.”
Highlighting the rural-urban healthcare divide, Dr Manaswi recommended training paramedics to administer or prescribe certain medications as a first line of treatment, even without a doctor’s prescription. Dr Goyal added, “There is a stark infrastructure gap in rural areas. We still experience power cuts, face difficulties in hiring trained staff, and encounter challenges in servicing equipment. If something breaks down in a rural area, it can take technicians 2-3 days to reach us. There’s a significant shortage of personnel—not just doctors but also paramedical staff.”
There is also increasing demand for the Centre to implement a public-private partnership (PPP) model in healthcare. Dr Goyal said, “The government needs to spend more, not just on building new hospitals but also on upgrading existing infrastructure. The PPP model should be seriously considered, allowing private doctors or institutions to collaborate with the government. In such a model, the government can handle funding while the private sector manages operations.”
He also highlighted a growing talent drain, with India losing nursing and paramedical staff to countries like the Middle East, Australia, and the UK, where the quality of life is perceived to be better.
Another pressing issue for the healthcare sector is the GST on medical equipment. Dr Goyal said, “The Centre should ideally reduce import duties on medical equipment, as this would significantly lower costs for patients. Unfortunately, India doesn’t manufacture many high-quality medical devices, particularly for eye care. Most equipment is imported from Germany or the US. A machine that costs ₹3-3.5 crore in the US would cost over ₹5 crore in India due to taxes and import duties. These costs ultimately have to be passed on to patients.”
In the 2024 budget, the Centre allocated nearly ₹91,000 crore to the Ministry of Health, a rise of nearly 13% from the previous year. It also introduced initiatives such as cervical cancer vaccination for girls aged 9-14 and extended health cover under the Ayushman Bharat scheme to all ASHA and Anganwadi workers and helpers.
(Edited by : Anand Singha)