HYDERABAD: While doctors and health professionals lauded the PPP model to introduce medical colleges in districts claiming that this would definitely benefit the State both in terms of employment and medical education opportunities, stakeholders and private medical institutions have called the health cess on import of medical equipment a dampener, due to lack of medical manufacturing in the country.
Speaking to Express, Dr Sanjeev Kumar, general secretary, Indian Medical Association said, "The move to introduce private medical colleges with government hospitals if implemented properly by the State government, will be a huge boost to State’s public healthcare sector as this will increase manpower in district-level hospitals in terms of specialists."
He added, “However, the budget has to be increased. If we proceed according to the recommendations of the first Five-Year Plan, the percentage of health budget should be close to 7 per cent of the entire budget. It is not even close to 3 per cent now."
Apollo Group-Hospitals president Dr K Hari Prasad said, “Health cess on import of medical equipment is a dampener. The government should at least consider exemption of this cess on medical equipment that is not manufactured in India.” He added, "Technology in healthcare has also found a mention in the budget.” Telangana has recently introduced 2020 as the Year of Artificial Intelligence, that will focus heavily on using AI tech for healthcare.
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories chairman Satish Reddy and president of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, said, "It would have been great to see a significant financial incentive to boost exports and improve the competitiveness of pharma sector. Hope this will take shape with a new export incentive scheme. The overall thrust on ease of doing business."
Budget ignores TS irrigation and industrial corridors
HYDERABAD: As Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman read out her nearly three-hour-long speech on Saturday, it became increasingly evident that Telangana had received a raw deal. Absolutely no funds were allocated to the Kaleshwaram project.
Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya have not received any funds. The State had sought Warangal-Hyderabad and Hyderabad-Nagpur industrial corridors and Hyderabad-Bengaluru-Chennai South industrial corridor.
But, there is no mention about these. The Budget also did not address the assurances given by the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 like setting up of the steel factory in Bayyaram, an integral coach factory at Kazipet and others. The State had sought a Rs 1,000 crore one-time grant for the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park.
But the Centre allocated a mere Rs 80 crore for the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP) for the entire country. One Renewable Energy Management Centre (REMC) will be set up in the State in 2020-21. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) would be functional in 2020-21 in Hyderabad. Though special package for irrigation projects to address agrarian distress in districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada was announced, Telangana was neglected