Budget 2023: Health sector allocation sees 13% hike; mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia announced

Budget 2023: The health sector has been allocated Rs 89,155 crore in the Union Budget 2023-24, a hike of around 13 per cent over Rs 79,145 crore allocated in 2022-23, with the government also announcing a mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047.

A paramedic distributes free medicine provided by the government to patients inside a ward at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) in Chennai July 12, 2012. Pic: Reuters

Budget 2023: The health sector has been allocated Rs 89,155 crore in the Union Budget 2023-24, a hike of around 13 per cent over Rs 79,145 crore allocated in 2022-23, with the government also announcing a mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2023-24 on Wednesday and said 157 new nursing colleges will be established in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014.

"A mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047 will be launched. It will entail awareness creation, universal screening of 7 crore people in the age group of 0-40 years in affected tribal areas, and counselling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and state governments," she said.

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The finance minister said facilities in select Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) laboratories will be made available for research by public and private medical college faculty members and private sector research and development teams for encouraging collaborative research and innovation.

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Dr. Neelam Gupta, Founder and President of AROH Foundation noted, "Setting the context of social sector view, India India ranked 132nd out of 189 counties in the Human Development Index. The spending on social protection (excluding health) in India is 1.4% of the GDP. Overall, India scored low on SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG-4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequality)."

"In this socio-economic context, the topmost priority was the fiscal expansion for fund allocation for the social sector that contributes to human development by improving food security, nutrition, health outcomes, access to education, and employment opportunities," she added.

The budget allocation for the AYUSH ministry has been increased from Rs 2,845.75 crore to Rs 3,647.50 crore, recording a 28 per cent increase.

Out of Rs 89,155 crore, Rs 86,175 crore has been allocated to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, while Rs 2,980 crore to the Department of Health Research. From the new financial year, the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) has been bifurcated into two sub schemes, the first being the PMSSY itself and the second one is the establishment expenditure of 22 new AIIMS for which Rs 6,835 crore has been allocated.

The budget allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana for 2023-2024 is Rs 3,365 crore.

Among these central sector schemes, the budget allocation for the National Health Mission has been increased from Rs 28,974.29 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 29,085.26 crore in 2023-24, and for

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (PM-JAY), it has been hiked from Rs 6,412 crore to Rs 7,200 crore.

The allocation for the National Digital Health Mission has been increased from Rs 140 crore to Rs 341.02 crore.

For the National Tele Mental Health Programme, the budget allocation has been increased from Rs 121 crore to Rs 133.73 crore.

The budget allocation for autonomous bodies goes up from Rs 10,348.17 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 17,322.55 crore in 2023-24. Among the autonomous bodies, the allocation for AIIMS, New

Delhi has been reduced from Rs 4,400.24 crore to Rs 4,134.67 crore.

The allocation for ICMR has been increased from Rs 2,116.73 crore to Rs 2,359.58 crore.

Gauri Agarwal, Founder and Director, Seeds of Innocense, said that from creating the groundwork for widened healthcare infrastructure to providing tech-aided solutions, the budget for 2023-24 has intelligently provided smart public health management.

"It will improve the functioning of the healthcare sector and boost public and private partnerships in the healthcare sector," Gauri said. "By fostering research and development in the medical field and setting up more ICMR labs, the government is paving the way for more innovations and technological advancements in the healthcare sectors like infertility treatments, genetic testing and other treatments. The establishment of 157 new nursing medical colleges is a much-needed step from the government, as it will cater to fulfil the scarcity of medical practitioners across the country," she added.

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