Priyanka Tiwari
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During the 2025-26 budget disclosure Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced major healthcare sector improvements. The government seeks to enhance public access to critical medicines alongside enhancing healthcare facilities throughout the nation.
Importing Drugs / Medicines Becomes Cheaper
— PIB India (@PIB_India) February 1, 2025
➡️ 36 Lifesaving drugs and medicines to be added to the list of medicines fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty
➡️ 37 more medicines and 13 new patient assistance programmes to be fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty… pic.twitter.com/T99t1opZ52
Expansion of Duty Exemptions on Life-Saving Medicines
The Basic Customs Duty exemption will cover all 36 life-saving pharmaceutical products to enhance accessibility.
Additional 37 medicinal drugs alongside 13 new patient assistance programs now qualify for full duty exemptions if supplied without cost to patients.
The duty exemption on these six vital pharmaceutical products has been reduced to 5% from being completely tax free.
Sitharaman announced during her eighth consecutive Union Budget that 36 life-saving drugs designed for cancer patients and rare disease sufferers will obtain completely free custom duties for relief measures.
As part of this budget the government decreased GST rates and removed three cancer treatment medications Trastuzumab Osimertinib and Durvalumab from all customs duties.
India’s Growing Disease Burden
The country maintains its position as one of the primary contributors to health burdens across Asia. Cancer cases together with deaths in the country have experienced an upward trend based on data from The Lancet study.
2019: 12 lakh new cancer cases, 9.3 lakh deaths
2020: 13.9 lakh cases
2021: 14.2 lakh cases
2022: 14.6 lakh cases
Major Healthcare Announcements
The government established multiple essential healthcare initiatives to enhance medical services delivery.
The government plans to create 200 new daycare cancer centers at district hospitals while establishing one such center in every district hospital during 2025-26.
Medical College Expansion: The government intends to create 10,000 additional medical college seats during the next year before adding 75,000 seats during the following five years to address the rising need.
Every secondary school and primary healthcare center operated by the government will connect to broadband internet to enhance their services delivery capabilities.
Under PM Jan Aarogya Yojana (PM-JAY) the government provides medical facilities to gig workers for improved healthcare support of informal sector personnel.
The government implements these measures to deliver better healthcare access and strengthen medical facilities as well as reduce health-related financial costs specifically for patients affected by cancer or rare diseases.
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