Reaction to proposals announced in Union Budget 2017-18 for healthcare industry

Kanchana TK, Director General, Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI): " OPPI welcomes the commitment of the Government to - reduce infant and maternal mortality rates; eliminate certain diseases like TB, leprosy, measles and filaria and make structural reforms in medical practice and education. The Government’s intention of transforming 1.5 lakh health sub-centres is encouraging. We also appreciate the Government’s intent to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Act which will be a step towards ensuring patient safety.

We had some expectations from the Union Budget 2017-18, given the Government’s past stated intentions of improving access to healthcare. Yesterday’s World Economic Forum said that that India’s public spending on healthcare is much lower than the global average. It is unclear whether the allocations will adequately address current healthcare challenges. We also hoped for some reform announcements on the regulatory front in the form of weighted deduction on R&D, incentives for patents, exemptions of certain duties and taxes, etc.”