New Delhi, Feb 02, 2025, IANS

New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) The Union Budget’s plan to establish daycare cancer centres in every district over the next three years is a timely initiative, experts said on Sunday. Cancer incidence in India is rising, with cases expected to increase by 27.7 per cent from 2015 to 2025. According to the ‘National Cancer Registry Programme Report’ 2020, one in nine people is likely to develop cancer in their lifetime. The Budget move “aims to improve access to cancer treatment and support, particularly in remote areas, bridging a critical gap in healthcare services,” said Ashok Varma, Partner, Grant Thornton Bharat. The Government will facilitate the setting up of daycare cancer centres and 200 such centres will be established in 2025-26. Moreover, the Budget announced 36 life-saving drugs and medicines (mainly for cancer and rare diseases) to be added to the list of medicines that are fully exempt from basic customs duty (BCD). Another six life-saving medicines are to be added to the list, which would attract concessional customs duty of 5 per cent. Garima Malhotra, Associate Partner, Healthcare and Lifesciences at Praxis Global Alliance, said that the expansion of medical education with 10,000 additional seats and the plan to add 75,000 seats over the next five years will address the shortage of healthcare professionals. “The establishment of daycare cancer centres in all district hospitals is a critical move towards enhancing accessibility to specialised treatment. These measures, along with continued investment in public health infrastructure, will improve healthcare access and affordability, fostering a healthier India,” she mentioned. The Government’s push for improved access to life-saving medicines through the addition of 36 drugs to the exempted list and enhanced support for rare disease treatments is a welcome move. The rationalisation of customs tariffs for industrial goods, including incentives for domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing, will further boost India’s position as the ‘Pharmacy of the World.’ The emphasis on R&D with a Rs 20,000 crore investment in private-sector-led innovation will also accelerate drug discovery and biotech advancements, said experts.