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Below the Quote on Union Budget 2026 – Pharma sector from Dheeresh Pathak - Senior Fund Manager – WhiteOak Capital AMC

India spends only 3.3% of its GDP on healthcare. Significantly less when compared to the other developed countries like USA ( 17% ) and emerging economies like China ( 5.5%) and Brazil (9.1%).

Central government healthcare spends while important represents only a small portion of the total healthcare spend.

At 360 lakh cr of nominal GDP , this 3.3 % is about 12 lakh cr. The central government spend on healthcare , through both DoHFW ( Dept of health and family welfare ) and DoP ( Department of pharmaceuticals ) , makes up about 1 lakh cr , which is less than 10% of total healthcare spend. A large part of the healthcare spend happens out of pocket and through state governments.

Some of the highlights of this year budget on healthcare are:

* BioPharma Shakti initiative, with an outlay of ?10,000 crore over five years, aims to position India as a global hub for biologics and biosimilars, supported by three new National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research NIPERs, upgradation of seven existing institutes, and a 1,000-site clinical trials network.

* bring CDSCO to par to global standards and approval timeframe.

* Infrastructure expansion includes NIMHANS 2.0, three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda, and the addition of ~10,000 medical seats for FY27.

* Schemes to support States in establishing Five Hubs for Medical Value Tourism in partnership with the private sector

* Exemption of BCD ( basic custom duty ) on 17 cancer/autoimmune drugs.

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