‘Will prove milestone’, health experts hail budget with focus on Cancer treatment

In a major relief to cancer, rare diseases and other severe chronic diseases, the Union government in budget 2025 on Thursday announced that 36 lifesaving drugs and medicines will be added to the list of medicines fully exempted from basic customs duty.

Presenting the budget, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said that the government will facilitate setting up of daycare cancer centres in all district hospitals over the next three years and 200 of these will be established in 2025-26. Finance minister also announced 10,000 seats will be added in medical colleges next year towards the goal of adding 75,000 seats in the next five years.

Hailing the budget for special focus on Cancer and rare disease medicines, Dr DK Gupta of Fliex Hospital termed the budget “Milestone’. He said the budget will prove a milestone in strengthening the health infrastructure.

“Many reliefs have been announced in the Union Budget, especially for cancer patients, medical students and common citizens struggling with medical expenses. This step of the government will strengthen the health infrastructure of the country and help make India a major medical destination”, said Dr DK Gupta.

Welcoming the health budget 2025, Dr. Archana Dhawan Bajaj, Gynaecologist, Obstetrician and IVF Expert, Nurture IVF Clinic, said “The budget has brought much needed relief for cancer patients, those suffering from rare diseases, and chronic conditions with the addition of 36 life-saving drugs to the list of medicines fully exempt from basic customs duty. Six life-saving medicines will be added to a list with a concessional customs duty of 5%. Full exemption and concessional duty will apply to bulk drugs used for manufacturing these medicines”.

Talking about the health allocation in this budget, Dr. Sameer Bhati, Director, Star Imaging & Path Lab, said “The Union Budget 2025-26 brings exciting developments for India’s healthcare sector. With an increased healthcare allocation of ₹98,311 crore, the focus on improving infrastructure and accessibility is clear. The plan to add 10,000 medical seats next year and 75,000 in the next five years will help address the shortage of healthcare professionals”.

Dr Bhati said the life-saving drugs being exempted from customs duties and 200 daycare cancer centers being set up and the introduction of new patient assistance programs will make a significant difference.

Dr Pragya Shukla, HoD(Clinical oncology) at Delhi State Cancer Institute in a post on X said, “Exempting certain cancer medicines from custom duty is a welcome step . They should be made tax free totally”.