Cancer patients in India have reasons to feel relieved after the presentation of the Union Budget 2024-25. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the drugs - Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib and Durvalumab - are fully exempted from basic customs duty.
Changes in the customs duty for X-ray tubes and flat panel detectors used in X-ray machines were also proposed in the budget.
Who uses these drugs?
Trastuzumab Deruxtecan is used for the treatment of breast cancer, while Osimertinib is used for lung cancer treatment. An immunotherapy drug, Durvalumab is used in the treatment of bladder and lung cancers.
The exact difference in their cost will depend on the present customs duty rates, taxes and logistics, though the exemption from customs duty can reduce the price by at least 20 per cent. This can be a big relief to cancer patients as it can bring in a noticeable difference in their treatment expenses, according to experts.
Other benefits
The Union health ministry has been allocated Rs 90,958.63 crore in the budget, an increase of 12.96 per cent over the Rs 80,517.62 crore 2023-24 revised estimates. The budget allocation for the AYUSH Ministry has been increased from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 3,712.49 crore. Out of the Rs 90,958.63 crore, Rs 87,656.90 crore has been allocated to the Department of Health and Family Welfare and Rs 3,301.73 crore to the Department of Health Research.
The budget allocation for schemes under the Department of Health and Family Welfare has been increased from Rs 77,624.79 crore to Rs 87,656.90 crore. Among the centrally sponsored schemes, the budget allocation for the National Health Mission has been increased from Rs 31,550.87 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 36,000 crore in 2024-25 and for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (PM-JAY) from Rs 6,800 crore to Rs 7,300 crore.
For the National Tele Mental Health Programme, the budget allocation has been increased from Rs 65 crore to Rs 90 crore. The allocation for the National Digital Health Mission remains the same at Rs 200 crore. The budget allocation for autonomous bodies has been increased from Rs 17,250.90 crore in 2023-2024 to Rs 18,013.62 crore in 2024-25.
Among these bodies, the allocation for AIIMS, New Delhi, has been increased from Rs 4,278 crore to Rs 4,523 crore. The allocation for the Indian Council of Medical Research has been increased from 2295.12 crore to Rs 2,732.13 crore.
(With PTI inputs)
