Healthcare still neglected?

“The government said that once all the black money is back into the system, the common man will enjoy the benefits of a cash-rich economy. This budget brought along nothing of the kind,” said Anil Bansal, a retired government sector official. According to him, the healthcare sector is still neglected and the LIC benefits the government offered (8% return on investment) should have been offered to the youngsters. “LIC is a long-term investment policy. How are senior citizens going to benefit?” Dr. Bansal asked.

About the linking of Aadhar and health cards, he said the move was welcome but was of no major significance.

Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator, Association of Indian Medical Device Industry, said that though it

was heartening to note the Finance Minister’s commitment about ‘regulations for medical devices in India,’ ‘the statement was open-ended and the fine print was yet to be spelt out.’

“We do hope the coming road map will be in sync with the government’s larger commitment of ‘Make in India’, that of manufacturing an eco-system for medical devices in the country, boosting domestic industry while ensuring the healthcare security of the nation, which implies that cost of medical devices need to be lowered,” said Mr. Nath.

Dinesh Aggarwal, a IT professional affected by polio, said that he welcomed the move to make the railway station disabled-friendly. “The annoucement brings forth the problems faced by people with disability. It is a welcome move,” he said, adding that he expected more in terms of saving opportunity from the Budget.