Investment is the 3^rd engine of development encompassing investing in people, investing in the economy and investing in innovation, said the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2025-26 in the Parliament today.

As part of investing in people, the Union Budget 2025-26 proposes to enhance the cost norms for the nutritional support under Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 programme. The programme provides nutritional support to more than 8 crore children, 1 crore pregnant women and lactating mothers all over the country, and about 20 lakh adolescent girls in aspirational districts and the north-east region.

The Union Finance Minister, in her Budget Speech, announced to facilitate setting up of Day Care Cancer Centres in all district hospitals in the next 3 years. 200 Centres will be established in 2025-26. The Budget also highlights that in the next year, 10,000 additional seats will be added in medical colleges and hospitals, towards the goal of adding 75,000 seats in the next 5 years.

The Finance Minister informed that the Medical Tourism and Heal in India will be promoted in partnership with the private sector along with capacity building and easier visa norms.

Relief on import of Drugs/Medicines

To provide relief to patients, particularly those suffering from cancer, rare diseases and other severe chronic diseases, the Union Finance Minister has proposed to add 36 lifesaving drugs and medicines to the list of medicines fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty (BCD).

The Finance Minister also proposed to add 6 lifesaving medicines to the list attracting concessional customs duty of 5%. Full exemption and concessional duty will also respectively apply on the bulk drugs for manufacture of the above.

The Budget also specified that drugs and medicines under Patient Assistance Programmes run by pharmaceutical companies are fully exempt from BCD, provided the medicines are supplied free of cost to patients. Budget proposes to add 37 more medicines along with 13 new patient assistance programmes.

For related information on Food and Nutrition programs, Click here - https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2098449

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NB/KS/AS