Apart from slashing the allocation for public health by nearly ₹800 crore in the Budget, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal has sent a clear message that, henceforth, the government might be looking to alternative financing mechanisms or public donations to raise funds for government health institutions.
Perhaps, one should read this together with the fact that public hospitals are currently reeling under an acute shortage of funds and that there is not even a partial allocation in the Budget for paying off the arrears of ₹1,354 crore that the government has to pay the hospitals for providing free treatment under various schemes.
Medical and public health sector has been allocated ₹2,052.23 crore this year, which is much lower than the allocation of ₹2,828.33 crore in 2023-24. The allocation for medical education has also taken a dip, from ₹463.75 crore in 2023-24 to ₹401.24 crore this year
