HYDERABAD:
Apollo Hospitals Group Executive Chairman Pratap C. Reddy has welcomed the initiatives in the Union budget towards better healthcare.
In a statement here, Dr. Reddy said the healthcare sector certainly seemed to be on the Finance Minister's radar.
Appreciating the increase in allocation for healthcare by 21.9 per cent and enhanced funding for the National Rural Health Mission, AIDS control programme and elimination of polio, he said the emphasis on rural healthcare and communicable diseases would help reduce the disease burden on the lower socio-economic groups.
He also hailed the reduction in customs duty from 12.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent and removal of service tax on clinical trials. "The latter will help in developing new treatment modalities for patients suffering from varied conditions. Coupled with our wide gene pool and excellent resources in the healthcare, IT sectors, India's chances in becoming a favoured destination for clinical research will certainly receive a big boost."
Stating that some areas of concern remained, Dr. Reddy favoured more incentives to develop healthcare infrastructure. "No specifics were spelt out for developing infrastructure for medical value travel, despite increased allocation for the tourism infrastructure," he said.
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