Union Budget 2022 – A Budget of Many Firsts

With the nation entering its third year battling the COVID-19 pandemic, Union Budget 2022 showcases the government’s focus on mental health and the push towards the digitisation of the healthcare sector. As noted by the finance minister in her address, the national vaccination program has made giant strides and, currently at 1.67 billion doses, helped mitigate the Omicron wave and withstand the long battle against the virus.

Building on the strengths of the National COVID Vaccination Program, the proposed spending of Rs. 15, 163 crores (for 2022-2023) for central schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY) and the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) shows that healthcare is seen as the necessary foundation for the economic health of the nation. This view reflects suggestions in Economic Survey 2020-21; as the annual health expenditure inches closer to the National Health Policy target of 2.5% of GDP by 2025 (budgeted expenditure reached 2.1% of GDP in 2021-22), out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses may decrease from 65% to 30% of the total healthcare spending.