'Healthcare is not a luxury...': Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw calls for weighty allocation in Budget 2025

Budget 2025: India’s healthcare sector is at a defining crossroads, presenting both complex challenges and transformative opportunities. Ahead to the Union Budget 2025, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon and Biocon Biologics, said India's budgetary allocation towards healthcare fell below 2% in the last three years against 2%.

She hoped that the upcoming Budget, to be presented on February 1, 2025, would see a weighty allocation in healthcare. 

"#Healthcare is not a luxury, but an essential which rich & poor need alike. India's budgetary allocation towards healthcare fell below 2% in last 3 yrs against 2% & more during FY17 to FY22. I hope, in #UnionBudgetFY26 we will see a weighty allocation in healthcare.  @nsitharamanoffc
 @FinMinIndia," Shaw wrote on social media platform X. 

In Budget 2024, the Centre did not meet the goal outlined in its National Health Policy 2017 to allocate a minimum of 2.5% of GDP to healthcare. The Department of Health and Family Welfare's budget for FY 2024-25 is Rs 87,656.90 crores, marking a 12.93% increase from the revised allocation of Rs 77,624.79 crores in the previous year. This boost in funding aims to improve support for health services and infrastructure.
 
Based on data from the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), public health expenditure for the fiscal year 2024 was estimated to be around 2.1-2.2% of GDP, which falls below the global average. By comparison, the United States allocated 17.9% of GDP to public health in 2022, China 6.6% in 2021, and Brazil 9.2% in 2021.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reports that India's public health infrastructure and workforce have shown gradual improvements in recent years, although significant shortages persist. As of 2022, there were 157,939 Sub-Centres (SCs), an increase from 152,326 in 2014. Meanwhile, the number of Primary Health Centres (PHCs) slightly decreased to 24,935 from 25,308 in 2014, and Community Health Centres (CHCs) rose to 5,502 from 5,335 in 2014.

The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests a doctor-to-population ratio of 1:1,000. However, as of 2022, India's ratio stands at approximately 1:1,511, highlighting a deficiency in healthcare professionals. Even though the number of doctors at Primary Health Centers (PHCs) has risen to 30,644 in 2022 from 27,421 in 2014, numerous PHCs continue to function without a complete medical staff. Meanwhile, the total number of specialists at Community Health Centers (CHCs) has increased to 4,544 from 4,152 in 2014. Nevertheless, the demand for specialized care surpasses the current capacity, resulting in gaps in delivering specialized services.