Healthcare industry voices priorities ahead of India’s Union Budget 2026–27

With the Union Budget 2026–27 set to be presented on February 1, 2026 in Parliament, healthcare industry stakeholders have outlined pre-budget expectations for the sector. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget for the financial year 2026–27 during the Budget Session, which is scheduled to start on January 28 and continue until April 2, 2026. 

The following are pre-budget quotes from healthcare industry leaders:

Dr. Jothi Neeraja, Founder & Managing Director, People Tree Hospitals and Maarga Mind Care: 

“In the Union Budget 2025–26, overall healthcare received a significantly higher allocation of approx. 10 per cent as compared to the previous year, reflecting the government’s commitment to strengthening the health sector. Within this, direct mental health spending under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare was around ₹1,004 crore, making it just 1 per cent of the health budget, with major support for institutions such as NIMHANS Bengaluru, the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health, Tezpur, and the National Tele-Mental Health Programme.

 While these allocations represent an important step and demonstrate growing recognition of mental health, the proportion remains small relative to the overall scale of need. For the upcoming Union Budget 2026, we hope to see greater and more sustained investment in mental health services for raising awareness and promoting the importance of mental health, in community programmes, early intervention, workforce training, and stronger healthcare infrastructure across urban and rural India. Continued emphasis on digital and tele-health services, integrated care pathways, and equitable access for all will play a crucial role in translating policy intent into real impact for individuals and families living with mental health conditions.”

 Ajay Kandhari, Managing Director, DSS Imagetech:

“Operating at the intersection of biotechnology, diagnostics, and applied biosciences, we see Union Budget 2026 as a decisive opportunity to convert intent into scalable impact. Union Budget 2025 laid a constructive foundation by reinforcing India’s long-term BioE3 vision—Biotechnology for Economy, Employment and Environment. Budget 2026 must now complete the cycle by strengthening last-mile adoption and market deployment, where distributor-led science translation plays a critical role. The progress made in GST harmonisation for biosolutions in 2025 was encouraging. We hope Budget 2026 extends this simplification across the entire operating framework—covering licensing, registrations, and access to affordable working capital—to unlock scale and speed.  As India advances towards Viksit Bharat 2047, DSS hopes to be not just a transactional intermediary but a strategic partner driving sustainable growth, climate resilience, and global competitiveness.”

Dr G.S.K. Velu, Chairman and Managing Director of Trivitron Healthcare, Chairman & Managing Director, Maxivision Eye Hospitals, and Chairman and Managing Director, Neuberg Diagnostics: 

 “As we approach the Union Budget 2026–27, India stands at a crossroad where execution must take centre stage to manage our nation’s soaring Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) burden, which accounts for a mortality rate of ~65 per cent. We urge the government to fulfil the long-standing industry recommendation of raising public health expenditure to over 2.5 per cent of GDP to build a truly resilient and future-ready ecosystem. Although the radical GST reform in 2025 that reduced taxes on diagnostic kits and medical devices to a mere 5 per cent charge was a historic achievement for health equity, it is now imperative for the coming budget to correct the inverted duty structure, which has been pressurising domestic manufacturers. There is scope to review and harmonise certain GST rates, like Radiation Protection Apparels being charged at 18 per cent – the same should be brought under 5 per cent GST rate for consistency. I strongly recommend aligning the GST bracket to eliminate the inverted duty structure. Such alignment would reduce operational inefficiencies, streamline compliance, and ensure that the cost savings are passed on to consumers. We must now ensure self-sufficiency and reduce our massive import dependency of 80 per cent on imported devices by adopting ‘Buy India’ initiatives or boosts in research incentives like the PRIP scheme, to migrate from volume in manufacturing to depth in R&D. At the same time, reduced import duties and GST on essential ophthalmic equipment, will give a boost to preventive eye health, supported by intensive screening programmes and public-private partnerships. The budget should provide targeted fiscal support for primary and secondary infrastructure in Tier 2 and 3 cities. In order to make affordable healthcare care accessible across Tier 2, Tier 3, and rural India, the budget should incentivise setting up of diagnostic hubs and comprehensive eye hospitals in these underserved regions through priority sector lending and enhanced Gap Viability Funding. By integrating AI-driven diagnostics and IoT-enabled monitoring, we can transform eyecare from a reactive model to a proactive one, identifying vision impairments decades earlier. By incentivising the integration of ‘Actionable AI’ and genomic triage into routine diagnostics, the government can help us transition from a reactive service model to a proactive, preventive healthcare system.Only by combining high-end technology with local manufacturing and strategic infrastructure spending can we ensure that world-class quality healthcare reaches the most remote corners of the country.”