Dear All,
Kindly find below the main highlights of the Union Budget 2016-17 with regard to the health sector.
Budget Allocation
· Budget allocation of Rs. 39,533 crores (BE) in 2016-17 compared to Rs. 34,957 crores (RE) in 2015-16 Budget.
· Allocation of Rs.20,037 crores to National Health Mission and Rs.1500 Crores to Rashtriya Swastha Suraksha Yojna (RSSY)
Budget Announcements
Department of Health and Family Welfare
· Catastrophic health events are the single most important cause of unforeseen out-of-pocket expenditure which pushes lakhs of households below the poverty line every year. Serious illness of family members causes severe stress on the financial circumstances of poor and economically weak families, shaking the foundation of their economic security. In order to help such families, the Government will launch a New Health Protection Scheme which will provide health cover up to Rs. One lakh per family. For senior citizens of age 60 years and above belonging to this category, an additional top-up packages up to Rs. 30,000 will be provided.
· Making quality medicines available at affordable prices has been a key challenge. We will reinvigorate the supply of generic drugs. 3,000 Stores under Prime Minister’s Jan Aushadhi Yojana will be opened during 2016-17.
· About 2.2 lakh new patients of End Stage Renal Disease get added in India every year resulting in additional demand for 3.4 crore dialysis sessions. With approximately 4,950 dialysis centres in India, largely in the private sector and concentrated in the major towns, the demand is only half met. Every dialysis session costs about Rs.2,000 – an annual expenditure of more than Rs.3 lakh. Besides, most families have to undertake frequent trips, often over long distances, to access dialysis services, incurring heavy travel costs and loss of wages. To address this situation, it is proposed to start a ‘National Dialysis Services Programme’. Funds will be made available through PPP mode under the National Health Mission, to provide dialysis services in all district hospitals. To reduce the cost, it is proposed to exempt certain parts of dialysis equipment from basic customs duty, excise/CVD and SAD
Indirect Taxes
Excise Duties
· Excise duty on Cigar and cheroots being increased:12.5% or Rs.3375 per thousand, whichever is higher 12.5% or Rs.3755 per thousand, whichever is higher.
· Excise duty on Cigarillos being increased 12.5% or Rs.3375 per thousand, whichever is higher 12.5% or Rs.3755 per thousand, whichever is higher
· Excise duty on Cigarettes of tobacco substitutes being increased Rs.3375 per thousand Rs.3755 per thousand
· Excise duty on Cigarillos of tobacco substitutes being increased 12.5% or Rs.3375 per thousand, whichever is higher 12.5% or Rs.3755 per thousand, whichever is higher
· Excise duty on other forms of tobacco substitutes being increased 12.5% or Rs.3375 per thousand, whichever is higher 12.5% or Rs.3755 per thousand, whichever is higher
· Excise duty on Gutkha, chewing tobacco (including filter khaini) and jarda scented tobacco being increased 70% 81%
· Excise duty on Unmanufactured tobacco being increased 55% 64%
· Tariff rate of excise duty on paper rolled biris [whether handmade or machine made] and other biris [other than handmade
biris] being increased. The effective rates, will, however, remain unchanged. Tariff rate Rs.30 per thousand. Effective rate Rs.21 per thousand Tariff rate Rs.80 per thousand Effective rate Rs.21 per thousand
Customs Duty
· Disposable sterilized dialyzer and micro barrier of artificial kidney being exempted from Basic Customs Duty, excise duty / CVD and SAD.
Service Tax
· Service Tax on the services of general insurance business provided under ‘Niramaya’ Health Insurance scheme launched by National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disability being exempted, with effect from 01.04.2016.
Source: http://pib.nic.in/eventsite/budget2016/pdf/budspeecheng.pdf
Posting Support by Dr.Rahul Reddy,NHSRC