New Delhi: Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda stated that the 176 per cent increase in the health sector budget over the past 12 years reflects the Modi government’s commitment to making healthcare accessible to all.
Welcoming the Union Budget 2026, the Union Minister mentioned that the funds allocated to the health sector this year are approximately 9 per cent more than last year.
In a video message, Nadda said, “The Union Budget 2026-27, presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a visionary budget that aims for public welfare and a ‘Viksit Bharat’, giving a new direction to the pace of the country’s economic development.”
“This is an all-inclusive and all-encompassing budget that will establish India as one of the world’s largest economic powers. This is a budget for the youth power of the country,” the Health Minister said, congratulating PM Modi and Finance Minister Sitharaman for the “historic Atmanirbhar Bharat budget”.
He further said that the Modi government’s commitment to making healthcare services accessible to all is “evident from the fact that the budget for the health sector has increased by 176 per cent in the last 12 years”.
“The budget allocated to the health sector this year, exceeding Rs 1.05 lakh crore, is approximately 9 per cent more than last year’s budget,” he said.
Nadda described the budget’s focus on mental health as a “welcome step”.
He said that the announcement of the upgradation of the Central Institute of Psychiatry in Ranchi and Tezpur, and the establishment of NIMHANS in North India, is “commendable”, and the establishment of the WHO Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar is a “matter of pride for all Indians”.
“I heartily welcome this budget, which focuses on research and development to strengthen the country’s health sector, along with the increase in the health budget… The proposal to further strengthen CDSCO to ensure that medicines manufactured in India meet world-class quality standards is commendable, he said.
Under the BioPharma Shakti Initiative, Nadda mentioned that the government has proposed an investment of Rs 10,000 crore in the biopharma sector over the next 5 years, which, according to him, will promote the domestic production of modern biological drugs and biosimilars.
“The announcement of 3 new NIPERs and the upgradation of the existing 7 will usher in a new era in the pharmaceutical sector in the country. Additionally, to strengthen the chemical industry, three special chemical parks will be developed in the states,” he added.
The Health Minister noted that the proposal to further strengthen Allied Healthcare Institutes to tackle the increasing non-communicable diseases caused by changing lifestyles will lead to the training of 100,000 professionals in this sector over the next five years, thus, “creating employment opportunities for the youth and improving the quality of healthcare services”.
“The proposal to establish trauma and emergency centres in every district hospital across the country will provide accessible and immediate medical facilities to the general public,” he said.
The budget for the ICMR and the Department of Health Research has been significantly increased for medical research and innovation, which will enable the development of new medicines, vaccines, and state-of-the-art treatment techniques, Nadda said.
The main objective of this budget, Nadda said, is to “sustain economic growth and take it to new dimensions, to provide equal opportunities for all to progress with the policy of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, and to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of every citizen of the country and make them partners in the country’s development”.
“Undoubtedly, this budget is a blueprint for the development of villages, the poor, farmers, youth, women, and all sections of society, as well as for the industrial revolution. The Indian economy is progressing at the fastest pace in the world and is moving towards a bright future,” the Union Minister said, calling the budget “revolutionary”.
(IANS)
