IMA Gives Suggestions To Sitaraman To Achieve The Goals Of Viksit Bharat Through Swasth Bharat

New Delhi: A week before Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman presents the Union Budget for 2026-27 in the Parliament, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Saturday has submitted 13-point recommendations to Sitaraman, highlighting the strategies to achieve the goals of Viksit Bharat-2047.

“The road to Viksit Bharat should go through Swasth Bharat. The health status of a country has a substantial impact on its economy, and it is therefore prudent to invest in health. The Health sector has to be promoted judiciously and made a priority sector like Industries, Education and Agriculture. Allocation to healthcare needs a quantum jump to 2.5 per cent of GDP from the current levels in the forthcoming budget, and a road map must be defined to increase to 5 per cent of GDP by 2030,” the IMA said.

In the recommendations, a copy of which is in possession of ETV Bharat, the IMA said that to promote indigenous research, innovation, and self-reliance in healthcare, the Government should provide dedicated financial support for innovation and start-up projects in every Medical College in India.

“Supporting innovation at the medical college level will strengthen India’s healthcare ecosystem and contribute to long-term health and economic growth,” the IMA said.

The IMA said that increased allocation of financial resources for health is the most important component.

“The allocation varying from 1.1 to 1.9 per cent of GDP, together with the various Governments is one of the lowest in the world. Moreover, the expenditure incurred on health determinants like drinking water and sanitation should be provided for separately. Despite numerous policy pronouncements prioritizing health, the governments in India at the Centre and state levels have historically underfunded the public health sector, resulting in poor health outcomes and rising inequity in access to health care,” the IMA pointed out.

It said that India’s existing bed-to-population ratio is 1.3/1000 population (both private and public hospitals included), and there is a deficit of 1.7/1000 population with WHO prescribed norms.

To cater to the existing population, an additional requirement of 2.4 million beds would be needed, the IMA said.

Approximately 70 per cent of current beds available are in the private sector. Amongst the private sector, most of the hospitals which are serving currently are less than 50-bedded hospitals. They are currently facing a dual challenge- at one end, scarcity of capital to add beds and new projects and at the other end, financial viability in the current environment of a third-party payor-dominant system, over-regulations, and price controls. Most of the corporate Indian hospital chains are now majorly governed and controlled by FII/PE/VCs with an increasing pace as well, the IMA pointed out.

“Income tax benefits for newer hospital projects in tier 2/3 cities, as these are long gestation projects. Accelerated depreciation rates should be considered for medical equipment, as there is higher technological attrition in 2-3 years. ‘Credit Linked Capital Subsidy’ with a provision for 25-50 per cent, for the small and medium-sized hospitals (up to 10 cr) as they are catering to the maximum number of beneficiaries at the periphery, this will also work to some extent as ‘Productivity Linked Incentive’ scheme as in industry to boost the health sector,” the IMA said.

Referring to the issue of health insurance and regulations, the IMA said that IRDAI health regulations and guidelines need review and multi-stakeholder balancing, which have gone payor-centric, creating conflicts and ethical dilemmas in medical care in India and negatively affecting patient care.

“Cartelization of health insurance companies and payors must be avoided,” the IMA highlighted.

The association said that all the purchases of life-saving modalities must be kept in the “Nil GST” category, and the GST paid on purchases of such equipment, consumables and services of various kinds in the healthcare setup should have a provision of full refund.

It is worth mentioning that, considering IMA’s requests, the last Union Budget exempted health insurance and certain life-saving medications from GST.

The IMA further said that all vaccines should be exempted from Goods and Services Tax (GST).

“At present, vaccines attract 5 per cent GST, which increases the cost and acts as a barrier to universal immunisation. Complete GST exemption will make vaccines more affordable and strengthen national public health programmes. With specific reference to the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer in women, the Government may consider providing direct subsidy for the HPV vaccine, or extending financial assistance and grants to credible NGOs and voluntary organisations that are administering the HPV vaccine free of cost to adolescent girls and women. Such support will significantly reduce the burden of cervical cancer and improve women’s health outcomes,” the IMA said.