HYDERABAD: The Union Budget 2026-27 drew mixed reactions from the health sector, with experts welcoming investments in secondary and tertiary care while expressing concern over insufficient focus on primary healthcare.

Dr Ranga Reddy Burri, president of the Infection Control Academy of India, said the Budget allocation of Rs 1,05,530 crore to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reflects the government’s intent to position healthcare as a growth engine.

However, he noted that from a public health perspective, the focus remains tilted towards industry, tertiary care, manufacturing and medical tourism, with inadequate attention to prevention, primary healthcare and affordability.

He added that critical measures such as a WHO AWaRe-aligned tax framework on reserve antibiotics and dedicated allocations for antimicrobial resistance or pandemic preparedness, were missing. “Prevention and preparedness must now become a real budgetary priority,” he said.

Dr Kiran Madhala, national coordinator of the All India Federation of Government Doctors Association, said the Budget does not propose meaningful reforms to bridge the gap between procurement price, stockist price and MRP, adding that lack of regulation in pharmaceutical mark-ups burdens patients.

He further noted that while medical and postgraduate seats are expanding numerically, structural reforms to improve working conditions, career progression and welfare of faculty and postgraduate students remain absent. “Human resources continue to be the most neglected component of the health system,” he said.