Medanta's Naresh Trehan Praises Health Focus in Budget 2026 as "Forward-Looking"

Reacting to the Budget, Trehan said, "These are all strong steps in the right direction. India is moving towards eliminating communicable diseases. On the other hand, the burden of non-communicable diseases like cancer, obesity, and diabetes is increasing. The question comes: how do we take control of that part now?"

He said the government's focus on research and development in biologics and biosimilars is significant, as these therapies play a key role in managing chronic diseases. "Developing biologics and biosimilars requires significant research, and this has been incentivised," he added.

Trehan also underlined the importance of addressing mental health challenges. "There are also huge mental health problems that are because of the stresses of society, including pollution. The fact that the establishment of mental health institutes is also a very positive move forward," he said, referring to the proposal to set up NIMHANS 2.0 in North India and upgrade mental health institutes in Ranchi and Tezpur.

On medical value travel, Trehan said the sector has remained underutilised despite its potential. "Medical travel value is also a big unexplored area, which we can organise. The proposal to establish five hubs in each state can be identified and used for promotion. We can double or triple this in the next one or two years," he said.

He also welcomed the emphasis on training, education and traditional systems of medicine. "The development of three All India Institutes of Ayurveda will contribute to wellness. Ayurveda has the potential to address not only physical health but also mental health, and this promotion will contribute to national health," Trehan said.

However, he noted that there was no significant change in overall health allocation. "We need to double the healthcare delivery system over the years, especially in rural health. While states have been offering incentives for tier-two and tier-three cities, there was no mention of this in the Budget," he noted. Still, Trehan said the emphasis on manufacturing, duty relief and deficit reduction makes the Budget forward-looking.

In her Budget speech, Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Biopharma Shakti initiative, with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore, the expansion of mental health and trauma care infrastructure, customs duty exemptions on cancer drugs, and measures to strengthen Ayurveda, biosimilars, and assistive healthcare systems.

- ANI