Senior doctors from Telangana welcomed the Union Budget’s thrust on pharmaceutical innovation and specialist infrastructure while warning that the core pillars of public health, affordability and prevention remain under-prioritised.
Dr. Ranga Reddy Burri of the Infection Control Academy of India (IFCAI) said the record allocation of ₹1,05,530 crore to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signals the government’s intent to position healthcare as a growth engine. However, he argued that from a public health lens, the emphasis continues to tilt towards industry, tertiary care, manufacturing and medical tourism, with insufficient attention to primary healthcare and prevention.
He pointed out that public health expenditure continues to hover around 1.8–2% of GDP, well short of the long-promised 2.5% target, with no clear roadmap to bridge the gap.
Echoing and expanding these concerns, Dr. Kiran Madhala, National Coordinator of the All India Federation of Government Doctors Association, criticised the continuing rise in drug prices and the lack of meaningful reforms to address the unjustified gap between procurement price, stockist price and maximum retail price. “The absence of regulation on pharmaceutical mark-ups directly burdens patients and undermines affordability,” he added.
On disease burden, Dr. Madhala pointed out that non-communicable diseases account for nearly 75% of all deaths in India, yet less than 2% of the health budget is earmarked for their prevention and control. “This reflects a serious mismatch between epidemiological realities and budgetary priorities,” he added.
Published – February 01, 2026 07:27 pm IST
