Budget 2025-26: Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the budget speech that 36 life saving medicines related to cancer and other serious diseases have been exempted from tax. Along with this, a big announcement has also been made for the treatment of cancer patients.
Presenting her eighth budget for 2025-26, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the central government will facilitate the establishment of day care cancer centers in all district hospitals in the next three years and 200 of these centers will be set up in 2025-26. Along with this, the Finance Minister has proposed to completely remove the basic customs duty on 36 life saving medicines used for the treatment of other serious diseases including cancer.
She said that the government will facilitate the establishment of day care cancer centers in all district hospitals in the next three years. She said, 200 centers will be set up in 2025-26 itself. Sitharaman said, “to provide relief to patients, especially those suffering from cancer, rare diseases and other serious chronic diseases, I propose to add 36 life-saving drugs to the list of medicines which will be fully exempted from customs duty. Apart from this, six life-saving drugs will be added to the concessional customs duty list of 5 percent. Full exemption or concessional rate will also be applicable on bulk drugs required for the manufacture of these medicines.”
In the last budget also, the government had decided to cut GST on three major cancer drugs – trastuzumab deruxtecan, osimertinib and durvalumab. Sitharaman said, “now I propose to add 36 more life-saving drugs to this list and include 13 new patient support programs.”
Presenting her eighth consecutive budget on Saturday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “To provide relief to patients, especially those suffering from cancer, rare diseases and other serious chronic diseases, I propose to add 36 life-saving drugs and medicines to the list of medicines which will be fully exempted from basic customs duty.”
Further, she mentioned that specified drugs and medicines provided under the ‘Patient Assistance Programme’ operated by pharmaceutical companies are fully exempted from basic customs duty, provided these medicines are provided free of cost to the patients.
On increasing seats in medical colleges and hospitals, she said, “Our government has added about 1.1 lakh undergraduate and postgraduate medical education seats in 10 years. This is an increase of 130 per cent.”
The minister also informed that all government secondary schools and primary health centres will be provided with broadband connectivity. Sitharaman said gig workers will be provided healthcare facilities under the PM Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
