AI in healthcare gets Budget push
Dr Prathap C Reddy
Hyderabad: Private healthcare majors feel that the Budget has given artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare a major thrust and this would be of immense help in improving the sector and also create opportunities for research and innovation across the healthcare spectrum.
Dr Prathap C Reddy, Founder Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, "Caring for the wellbeing of citizens is integral to nation building, India stands tall for putting people first, and this Union Budget, the first in the Amrit Kaal, resonates with this ethos."
Similarly, Dr K Hari Prasad, President, Apollo Group – Hospitals, said: "In healthcare skill development, 157 new nursing colleges and novel skill development courses for medical equipment and device manufacturing and innovation."
Government Healthcare expenditure has doubled over the last 8 years and is going up further. While we will get more clarity on reviewing the complete budget document, the initial reaction is that it is a positive and forward looking budget, he added.
Describing the Budget as a "good one given the tough macro level scenario", Kamineni Shashidhar, MD of Kamineni Hospitals, said it is a welcome initiative to establish 157 nursing colleges as there is need for more nursing professionals in the country. Dr Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman and MD, Aster DM Healthcare, said: "We were hoping for concessions for NRIs residing abroad like reduction on TDS for those who have a source of income in India and are required to pay taxes in the country they reside in, flight prices, health scheme for those who are returning to India to retire, among others. However, these remain untouched as well."
Vikram Vuppala, CEO and Founder, NephroPlus, says: "The health ministry has been allocated Rs 89,155 crore, thereby indicating a nominal rise of 12 per cent over the FY23 allocation. Further adjusting this for inflation is not a promising growth on health allocation. To compare, BRICS, excluding India, spend about 6.7 cent of GDP on healthcare while India spends less than 2 per cent."