HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY LEADERS

Meena Ganesh, Co-Founder & Chairperson, Portea Medical

COVID-19 has been an eye-opener for India's healthcare sector. The massive need for infrastructure and human medical resources is now known to all, and to plug the coverage gap, there is a need for a sharp increase in budgetary allocation. For the last few years, the allocation has been around or under 1.5% of the GDP, and at the minimum, it has to be increased to 2.5% of the GDP as the government had stated in the past. Without any increase in the outlay, almost the entire budget gets exhausted in maintaining the existing infrastructure, and in running the various healthcare schemes announced by the government. Apart from the higher allocation, the other thing that the healthcare industry expects from the upcoming Union Budget, is to offer tax incentives and benefits to platforms that invest in advanced technologies and innovative healthcare delivery. By boosting the supportive healthcare system, the government would not only be able to expand quality medical coverage all over the country, but also reduce the burden on existing institutional infrastructure. This is what we are looking forward to in the upcoming budget.

Runam Mehta, CEO, HealthCube