Building on last year’s emphasis on expanding healthcare infrastructure and strengthening digital health platforms, the Union Budget 2026 moves decisively towards a more decentralised, innovation-led and regionally anchored healthcare system.
The Budget sends a clear signal: India’s healthcare future will not be built only in large cities. It must be shaped in regions, districts and Tier-2 and 3 cities, where the majority of Indians live and seek care. The focus on regional healthcare complexes, domestic innovation, traditional medicine and technology adoption reflects a practical understanding that access and quality must now evolve together.
The proposal to develop five regional medical hubs as integrated healthcare complexes is a defining step. These hubs, combining hospitals, medical education, research and innovation, can become engines of advanced care outside metros. For states, this presents an opportunity to build depth, not just capacity, and to emerge as destinations for medical value travel. Regional hubs can anchor advanced specialties such as oncology, cardiology, neurosciences, transplants and complex surgery, offering high-quality care at a competitive cost while strengthening district referral networks. They also create ecosystems where medical talent is trained, retained and deployed locally.
The emphasis on expanding research, diagnostics and workforce capacity through these hubs is timely and strategic. With a projected global shortage of healthcare professionals by 2030, this forward-looking approach positions India as a hub for high-quality, technology-enabled and compassionate care, serving both domestic and international patients.
Innovation sits at the centre of the Budget’s healthcare vision. The proposed Rs 10,000 crore Biopharma Shakti mission over five years recognises that India must participate in the next wave of therapeutics. With nearly 60% of deaths in India caused by non-communicable diseases, access to advanced biologics and precision therapies will increasingly define health outcomes. Strengthening domestic biopharmaceutical research and manufacturing is therefore both an industrial strategy and a public health imperative.
People remain the backbone of any health system. The proposal to introduce 10 new allied health disciplines and train one lakh allied health professionals over five years addresses workforce gaps. Strong multidisciplinary teams translate directly into better patient experience, safer care and higher system resilience, while creating skilled employment in smaller cities and towns. Traditional medicine also has an important place. Strengthening Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani and other systems through education, research and evidence-based integration with modern medicine can widen affordable care options, especially in semi-urban and rural areas.
I also want to commend the continued support for the Heal in India vision, which further positions the country as a trusted destination for patient-centric, affordable and world-class healthcare, reinforcing the message that healthcare is no longer just social expenditure, but strategic infrastructure essential to building a resilient India.
Sangita Reddy
Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals