INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Government has said that healthcare is states' responsibility so budget allocation is lowMumbai: Finance secretary T V Somanathan on Monday
is still low at 1.3 per cent of GDP.At a post-budget interaction of industry representatives in Mumbai with finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president T V Narendran said the spending on healthcare, though higher than in the past,
is 1.3 per cent of GDP, while the expectations are that the government should spend over 3 per cent."The figures have to be seen in the
context of it being primarily a state government responsibility," Mr Somanathan said, adding that "anytime we discuss targets on the
require increases in the tax-to-GDP ratio and I request the cooperation of the industry to increase that also".The finance secretary said
the government provides for some "cross-cutting health infrastructure" and also spends on the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY),
which helps people from lower strata of the society to access healthcare.According to the budget proposals for 2022-23, the government is
planning to spend about Rs 83,000 crore on healthcare, the same as it did in 2021-22, even as the pandemic is still on.