The Union Budget 2026–27 has accorded significant priority to the health sector, with a substantial increase in allocations for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reflecting the Government’s continued commitment to strengthening India’s healthcare system and ensuring universal access to quality medical services.
Presenting the Union Budget in Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an allocation of ₹1,06,530.42 crore for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2026–27, marking an increase of nearly 10 per cent over the Revised Estimates of 2025–26. The enhanced outlay underscores the Government’s focus on healthcare infrastructure development, service delivery, medical education, research and innovation, in line with the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047.
The allocation includes ₹4,821.21 crore for the Department of Health Research, and represents a cumulative increase of over 194 per cent compared to the health budget of 2014–15. The scheme component of the Ministry has been increased by over ₹6,175 crore, while the non-scheme component has risen by more than ₹2,500 crore, reflecting a balanced approach towards programme implementation and institutional strengthening.
Among key flagship programmes, the allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana has been raised to ₹9,500 crore, aimed at expanding coverage, improving service quality and strengthening hospital networks. The National Health Mission has been allocated ₹39,390 crore to further enhance primary healthcare delivery, maternal and child health services and disease control efforts across States and Union Territories.
A major boost has been provided to healthcare infrastructure under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, with an allocation of ₹4,770 crore, representing a significant increase over the previous year. This will support the expansion of critical care blocks, integrated public health laboratories, district and sub-district hospitals and other essential health facilities.
The Budget also places strong emphasis on medical education and tertiary healthcare. Under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, including the establishment and operationalisation of new AIIMS, the allocation has been increased to ₹11,307 crore. This will support the construction of new institutions, upgradation of government medical colleges and strengthening of super-specialty services.
In the area of disease control, the allocation for the National AIDS and STD Control Programme has been significantly enhanced to strengthen prevention, treatment and blood transfusion services across the country. Additional investments have also been proposed to expand emergency and trauma care services, cancer centres, transplant units, robotic surgery facilities and AI-enabled centres in medical institutions.
Recognising the growing demand for skilled healthcare professionals, the Budget proposes a phased outlay of ₹980 crore over three years for the expansion of allied and healthcare professionals’ education. This includes setting up and upgrading institutes across key disciplines and training a large workforce of geriatric caregivers to address the needs of India’s ageing population.
To accelerate digital healthcare transformation, the allocation for the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission has been enhanced to strengthen digital health records, telemedicine services and interoperable health systems, ensuring citizen-centric and efficient healthcare delivery.
The Budget also provides higher allocations for premier institutions such as AIIMS Delhi, PGIMER Chandigarh, central hospitals and the Central Government Health Scheme, ensuring improved service delivery and operational efficiency.
Medical research and innovation have received a strong push, with a substantial increase in funding for the Indian Council of Medical Research. The Government also announced the launch of the Bio Pharma Shakti initiative with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore over five years to boost domestic production of biologics and biosimilars, strengthen clinical research and position India as a global biopharma hub.
To reduce treatment costs, especially for cancer and rare disease patients, the Budget proposes full exemption of basic customs duty on 17 life-saving drugs and extends import duty exemptions to additional rare diseases.
Mental healthcare has also been prioritised, with proposals to upgrade premier mental health institutions and establish a NIMHANS in North India. Emergency and trauma care centres are proposed in every district hospital to ensure round-the-clock access to critical medical services.
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