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New Delhi: As India prepares for the Union Budget 2026–27, healthcare leaders across AYUSH, diagnostics and hospital care are calling for targeted fiscal support to reduce costs, expand infrastructure beyond metros, and integrate preventive and alternative systems into mainstream healthcare.
A major thrust of expectations centres on the AYUSH sector, which industry leaders say has emerged as both a public health asset and a growing export opportunity. Abdul Majeed, Chairman and Managing Trustee of Hamdard Laboratories, said the upcoming Budget offers a critical opportunity to strengthen India’s preventive healthcare ecosystem while enhancing global competitiveness.
He urged enhanced allocation for the Ministry of AYUSH to support infrastructure, digital initiatives and capacity building across Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy. He also called for dedicated funding for clinical research, validation of classical formulations, pharmacovigilance and integrative medicine through national research councils and academic institutions, backed by public–private partnerships.
With the Indian AYUSH industry estimated at cross US$43 billion and exports crossing US$689 million in FY25, Majeed advocated capital subsidies, GST exemption for essential AYUSH generic medicines, and fiscal incentives for manufacturing units, wellness centres and hospitals, particularly in aspirational districts. He also pushed for the creation of AYUSH pharma parks, common testing facilities and budgetary support for global regulatory approvals and branding under medical tourism initiatives such as Heal in India. Importantly, he recommended comprehensive inclusion of AYUSH treatments—covering outpatient, preventive and chronic care—across government and private insurance schemes to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure.
Echoing the need for evidence-based integration, Rajiv Vasudevan, MD, CEO and Founder of Apollo AyurVAID, said while the government has made visible efforts to build credibility for AYUSH through research collaborations with WHO, DBT and ICMR, sustained financial commitment is now essential.
He proposed a dedicated “moonshot mission” with an annual outlay of at least ₹500 crore over the next five years to generate robust clinical evidence for Ayurveda as a treatment option for select conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, osteoarthritis, spinal disorders, gut and sleep health. Such an initiative, he said, could lower long-term healthcare costs by reducing dependence on elective surgeries and emergency care.
On the demand side, Vasudevan stressed the need for a separate budgetary provision to include Ayurveda and AYUSH services under Ayushman Bharat–PMJAY, calling it critical for secondary and tertiary prevention and for lowering India’s high out-of-pocket health expenditure, currently estimated at nearly 48% of total health spending.
From the diagnostics sector, Dr. Somnath Chatterjee, Chairman and Joint Managing Director of Suraksha Diagnostic Limited, called for GST reduction or removal on selective life-saving diagnostic tests to improve affordability. He said input costs for tests related to chronic, non-communicable diseases—the country’s primary disease burden—must be lowered. He also urged greater investment in domestic medical device manufacturing to reduce import dependence, along with incentives to establish diagnostic infrastructure at the block and village levels.
Meanwhile, hospital operators flagged financing and reimbursement challenges, particularly for mid-size and secondary hospitals that form the backbone of healthcare delivery outside metros. Dr. V. S. Chauhan, Chairman and Managing Director of Prakash Hospital, Noida, said Union Budget 2026 must enable hospital-led growth through affordable capital access, faster clearances and predictable reimbursement timelines under government schemes.
He noted that delays in payments restrict reinvestment and slow capacity creation, while policy support remains disproportionately focused on tertiary care. Higher healthcare allocation, GST rationalisation on medical inputs, realistic reimbursement structures under PMJAY, and clear frameworks for financing, land access and approvals are needed to ensure sustainable expansion, workforce growth and adoption of digital health solutions.
Together, stakeholders say, these measures could help India move closer to a more affordable, preventive and decentralised healthcare system—one that balances innovation with access as disease burden and medical inflation continue to rise.
