As India accelerates toward its ambitious economic milestones, the spotlight turns sharply to the foundational pillar that sustains this growth: healthcare. The narrative leading up to Union Budget 2026 is no longer defined by pandemic-era crisis management but by a strategic demand for structural resilience, self-reliance, and modernization. Industry captains are looking past short-term allocations, urging the Ministry of Finance to view healthcare not merely as a social imperative, but as a critical economic engine.
The consensus among leaders is clear. To bridge the widening accessibility gap between Tier-1 cities and the hinterlands of Bharat, the sector requires decisive interventions. The wish list is specific: granting infrastructure status to hospitals to ease capital access, rationalizing GST structures on life-saving devices, and significantly increasing incentives for domestic R&D in the MedTech and pharma spaces. There is also a growing clamour for policies that support the integration of AI and digital health ecosystems to drive efficiency.
Furthermore, as non-communicable diseases rise and the population ages, stakeholders are emphasizing a shift from curative to preventive financing. The expectation is for a budget that moves beyond incremental increases and delivers the policy consistency needed to cement India’s position as the ‘Pharmacy of the World’ while securing the health of its own workforce.
Sheetal Arora, Promoter & CEO, Mankind Pharma, had this to say. “As India finalises the Union Budget 2026–27, the pharmaceutical sector stands at a pivotal juncture expanding healthcare access at home while strengthening India’s position as a global supplier of affordable medicines. With pharma exports crossing US$30 billion in FY25 and India contributing nearly 20% of global generic medicine volumes, the industry’s scale and strategic importance are well established.
As government health allocations, digital health initiatives and public healthcare schemes continue to drive demand for affordable therapies, this budget presents a timely opportunity to deepen support through enhanced R&D tax incentives, including the restoration of globally competitive weighted R&D deductions, expanded PLI-style measures and targeted duty rationalisation to strengthen API self-reliance. Building on the GST rationalisation measures introduced in 2025, we also look forward to a stable and predictable GST framework that addresses inverted duty structures, recognises the unavoidable nature of medicine expiry, quality and safety requirements, and enables smoother cost pass-through across the pharma value chain.
Fast-tracking capacity creation for regulated markets such as the US and EU, supported by customs duty rationalisation for advanced manufacturing and quality compliance infrastructure, will further unlock export growth and high-quality employment, while collectively helping secure supply chains, drive innovation and reduce the cost of medicines for millions of patients across India.”
Ishaan Dodhiwala, Co-founder, Medijourn Solutions Private Limited, weighed in with his thoughts as well. “The medical tourism sector expects the Union Budget 2026–27 to respond to the growing global demand for India’s ‘Heal in India’ initiative, as international patients increasingly seek affordable, high quality and outcome driven healthcare.
We expect the government to allocate a specific budget to promote ‘Heal in India’ initiative in the priority markets like Africa, middle east, SAARC and other emerging markets to promote medical tourism to India. Besides we expect specific measures to ease medical visa processes, support internationally accredited hospitals, and expand quality healthcare facilities into Tier II and Tier III cities.
As demand for complex procedures and treatments such as cardiology, oncology, orthopaedics and fertility care continues to rise, expectations also include policies that attract foreign capital and strategic partnerships, along with rationalisation of import duties on advanced medical equipment and incentives for digital health and AI enabled diagnostics.
Overall, the sector expects the Union Budget 2026–27 to scale the Heal in India initiative into a globally competitive medical value travel framework by combining affordability, clinical excellence and sustained global investment.”
