Union Budget 2025 expectations: 'Govt should address infrastructural gaps, workforce crisis in healthcare industry'

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget for financial year 2025-26, needs to focus on infrastructural gaps, shortages of medical professionals, and ensuring services are offered at more affordable rates in the healthcare sector, Sanjaya Mariwala, Executive Chairman and Managing Director, OmniActive Health Technologies said.

The President of the Association of Herbal and Nutraceutical Manufacturers of India said raising allocation in the healthcare sector is one of the challenges staring Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

"As we dream of Viksit Bharat in 2047, it cannot happen without Swasth Bharat. Health is a very significant area of development in India. Despite the progress achieved so far, health expenditure has been a mere 3.37% of GDP trailing the targeted 5% of GDP for universal coverage of health services. The major challenges lie in addressing infrastructural gaps, shortages of medical professionals, and ensuring services are offered at more affordable rates," he said.

He noted that beyond curative solutions, preventive healthcare needs to be at the fore if it is to be sustainable in the long run.  "The nutraceutical sector is capable of playing an extremely important role in not only bringing down healthcare costs but also impacting overall health outcomes," he said

"However, the common man cannot reap the benefits of nutraceuticals when GST is at 18%. Reducing it to 5-10% will align it with pharmaceuticals and make such preventive solutions more accessible and affordable for consumers," he added.

Mariwala further said that incentivising corporate investment in clinical trials and research will ensure that products are safe and effective for consumers.

"Strengthening the credibility and safety of these products is crucial for building public trust. If the upcoming Union Budget addresses these priorities, it will reinforce India's healthcare system, improve consumer safety, and position the country as a global leader in preventive health,”  he said.