Kolkata: The healthcare sector concerns virtually everyone in the country. It is also a sector for which all governments in the world are constantly working to find satisfactory solutions. One of the consultancy majors KPMG has drafted a few interesting recommendations for Budget 2026, which finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is going to present on Sunday, Feb 1.
The Centre allocated Rs 99,859 crore for the Budget for FY26, that marked a 11% rise from the allocation in FY25. KPMG has stated that the allocation for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare rose at the average rate of about 12% between FY13 and FY26. KPMG has also stated that the health sector budget for the next financial year should be prepared with the goal of building “Healthy India” by 2047, when the government wants the country to graduate to the state of a developed nation. According to KPMG, the following few points could be addressed in Budget 2026.
Health AI budget
KPMG has urged the govt for a focused yearly budget of at least Rs 250-300 crore in order to implement projects that are driven by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Language. It can adopt projects both in the public and private health sectors. “To maximise impact, targeted grants or incentivisation models should be considered for adopting approved AI solutions,” it says in a pre-Budget note.
Fund for cybersecurity
The consultancy firm also thinks a dedicated cybersecurity fund should be earmarked. It should be utilised for safeguarding personal health data and institutional strengthening. It can also be used for compliance in both public and private sector with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 and its newly released Rules in 2025.
Rationalisation of GST
Though GST has been eliminated from most healthcare services, GST is applicable on a lot of critical inputs such as medical devices, diagnostic kits, AI software and telemedicine platforms. If these hidden GST are removed, they will help a huge number of treatment seekers. Such a step will also address the rising healthcare inflation. The FM can take care of these in the Budget, said KPMG.
Medical tourism potential
The country’s medical sector seems to pack a lot of potential in this domain. The government can allocate for a promotional program that can build dedicated medicities or zones. The govt could think of a “Healthcare Infrastructure Development Fund” with a capital of Rs 5,000 crore which can fund private providers and plug viability funding gap in such projects.
Centralised medical supplies
KPMG has also mentioned the need to create a dedicated fund under the National Health Mission to strengthen the centralised medical supply. It should include end-to-end traceability of drugs, devices and consumables through digital platforms. This would compliance enforcement, enforce quality create safe and transparent supply chains in the country.