India likely to double health spending next fiscal year

The new healthcare plan is likely to be unveiled on Feb 1 when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (pic) presents the country’s budget for 2020/21.

NEW DELHI: India is likely to double health spending in the next fiscal year with the aim of raising expenditure in the sector to 4% of gross domestic output in the coming four years, two officials said, as the country looks to fix its health system after the coronavirus pandemic.

India will likely raise its health spending to 1.2 trillion to 1.3 trillion rupees (US$16.46 to US$17.83bil) in the fiscal year starting April 1, from the current year’s projected spending of 626 billion rupees, the officials told Reuters.