Health budget hiked by 28 pc; 5,000 PG seats to be created

To ensure availability of specialist doctors at the secondary and tertiary levels, the Centre today announced the creation of additional 5,000 post- graduate (PG) seats every year even as it increased the budget allocation for the health sector by almost 28 per cent.
The government also announced setting up of two more All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Jharkhand and Gujarat and asserted that it has prepared an action plan to eliminate kala-azar and filariasis by 2017, leprosy by 2018, measles by 2020 and tuberculosis by 2025.
The Centre said that while Drugs and Cosmetics Rules will be amended to ensure availability of drugs at reasonable prices, new rules for regulating medical devices will also be formulated soon while asserting that 1.5 lakh health sub- centres will be transformed into Health and Wellness Centres across the country.

According to the Union Budget 2017 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today, the budget allocation for health ministry for 2017-18 is Rs 47,352.51 crore in comparison to allocation in 2016-17 of Rs 37,061.55 crore, an increase of 27.76 per cent from previous year. The revised allocation for 2016-17 was Rs 38,343.33 crore.
Jaitley in his speech said that the government is committed to take necessary steps for structural transformation of the regulatory framework of medical education and practice in India which includes several steps for increasing post-graduate medical seats.
"The government has prepared an action plan to eliminate kala-azar and filariasis by 2017, leprosy by 2018 and measles by 2020. Elimination of tuberculosis by 2025 is also targeted.

"Similarly, action plan has been prepared to reduce Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) from 39 in 2014 to 28 by 2019 and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) from 167 in 2011-13 to 100 by 2018-2020. 1.5 lakh Health Sub Centres will be transformed into Health and Wellness Centres," he said.

The allocation for Department of Health Research under the ministry too has been hiked for 2017-18 as it has been alloted Rs 1,500 crore from the previous year's allocation of Rs 1,144.80 crore. The revised allocation previous year was Rs 1,344.80 crore.
Jaitley said that to strengthen secondary and tertiary levels of health care, adequate availability of specialist doctors is needed.

"We have therefore decided to take steps to create additional 5,000 Post Graduate seats per annum. In addition, steps will be taken to roll-out Diplomate of National Board (DNB) courses in big district hospitals, strengthen PG teaching in select ESI and municipal corporation hospitals and encourage reputed private hospitals to start DNB courses," Jaitley said.
Jaitley said the Centre would work with the states to
take these tasks forward and that the government was committed to take necessary steps for structural transformation of the Regulatory Framework of Medical Education and Practice in India.
The budget also proposes to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules to ensure availability of drugs at reasonable prices and promote use of generic medicines.

New rules for regulating medical devices will also be formulated and these rules will be internationally harmonised and attract investment into this sector with an aim to reduce the cost of such devices, he said.
Meanwhile, Union Health Minister J P Nadda congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jaitley for the budget which he said was focused on welfare of all sections of society.
"Enhanced allocation to health sector in #Budget2017 will strengthen activities of the @MoHFW_INDIA towards providing universal health care. We are committed to make #SwasthaBharat by eliminating several diseases in coming years," he tweeted.
The focus on tuberculosis comes after the World Health Organization recently saying that this epidemic in India is "larger" than what was previously estimated and the country was one of six nations which accounted for 60 per cent of the new cases in 2015.

Reacting to the budget, Anjan Bose, Secretary General, NATHEALTH said, "FM's budget clearly focuses on improving healthcare access for the less privileged and on 'preventive and wellness' both of which are very encouraging.
"Target of transforming 1.5 lakh health sub-centres into health wellness centres is in line with the need of the hour for the Indian citizens," he said.
Forum Coordinator, Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) Rajiv Nath said that though the Finance Minister in his budget statement has not specified the increase requested for basic import duty of at least 10 per cent on medical devices , however, it's heartening to hear that new rules regarding such devices regulations will be formulated and the cost of medical devices will be reduced.

"But what remains to be seen is how serious is the government's intent to spruce up manufacturing in the 70 per cent import dependent (90 per cent for medical electronics) import dependent medical devices industry," he said.