Union Budget 2026 Wishlist: What India’s healthtech sector wants from the next phase of healthcare reform

As India’s healthcare ecosystem becomes increasingly digital-first, expectations from the Union Budget 2026 are rising across the healthtech landscape. From AI-powered diagnostics and telemedicine platforms to digital health records and medical device innovation, the sector is looking for policy clarity, stronger public–private collaboration, and sustained investment support.

Read more: Union Budget 2026: What India’s Fintech sector wants from the next wave of reforms

The Tech Panda asked Healthtech industry players what their expectations are from the Union Budget 2026.

Dr Sheetal Jindal, Director Medical Genetics program, Jindal IVF

“As India’s healthcare sector evolves, the Union Budget 2026-27 must strategically support inclusive reproductive care and affordable fertility solutions. With healthcare allocations already expanding year-on-year to strengthen infrastructure, medical education, and universal coverage, there is a strong case for targeted incentives for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) like IVF. This should include subsidies or tax relief for fertility treatments, inclusion of multiple IVF cycles under public health schemes or insurance, and enhanced funding for training and research in reproductive medicine to ensure quality outcomes nationwide. Such policy support would not only improve accessibility for millions of hopeful parents from tier-2 and tier-3 cities but also help address India’s shifting fertility trends by empowering families with choice and care. At Jindal IVF, we envision a Budget that champions equity and innovation in reproductive health, making world-class fertility care more affordable and widely available.”

Rahul Guha, Managing Director & CEO, API Holdings & Thyrocare

“The government’s consistent focus on digital healthcare and startup growth has been instrumental in expanding healthcare access across India. As we approach the budget, we see exciting opportunities to further accelerate this progress.

Addressing the GST rate differential where medicines are taxed at 5% while input services attract 18% GST—would significantly improve working capital efficiency for healthcare companies. This would enable us to maintain affordability while scaling our services to reach more Indians.

As businesses adapt to evolving labour guidelines, thoughtful tax or GST measures could help ensure that compliance costs don’t impact healthcare affordability for end consumers—a shared priority for both industry and government.

We’re encouraged by the government’s continued commitment to the startup ecosystem. Further streamlining the ease of doing business will empower digital health platforms to innovate faster and serve millions more citizens. We look forward to a budget that builds on India’s healthcare transformation journey.

Aligning employee health testing with labour guidelines could be a game-changer for preventive healthcare, benefiting both employers and employees while building a healthier workforce. We also believe that streamlining compliance frameworks across entities would enhance operational efficiency and allow diagnostic players to focus more on innovation and service quality.

Extending Production Linked Incentive schemes to domestic manufacturing of diagnostic essentials—reagents, needles, and vials—would further strengthen the government’s ‘Make in India’ vision. For companies committed to local manufacturing, this support would alleviate import dependency and create a more self-reliant healthcare ecosystem. We remain optimistic that this budget will continue to prioritise healthcare infrastructure, enabling the sector to serve India’s growing healthcare needs more effectively.”

Arushi Jain, Director, Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals

“India has earned global recognition as a reliable, large-scale supplier of affordable medicines, yet our investment in research and development remains disproportionately low. While the country spends roughly $3 billion on pharma R&D, the United States invests close to $50–60 billion and China nearly $15–20 billion. This gap is not just numerical—it reflects a wider innovation deficit that limits India’s ability to create breakthrough therapies, build future-ready technologies, and strengthen long-term healthcare resilience. The upcoming Budget presents a crucial opportunity to change this trajectory by placing pharma innovation at the centre of national priorities.

However, innovation in pharmaceuticals cannot exist in silos. Alongside R&D funding, there is an urgent need to support advanced manufacturing, workforce skilling, quality digitization, and technology-driven compliance systems that strengthen trust across the healthcare value chain. Fiscal support that encourages automation, digital traceability, anti-counterfeiting solutions, and global regulatory alignment will help Indian companies move up the value curve—from volume-led manufacturing to precision-driven, quality-first delivery.

Equally important is strengthening the institutional capacity of government departments responsible for drug approvals, licensing, and quality monitoring. Adequate budgetary allocation toward regulatory infrastructure, skilled manpower, and review systems can significantly enhance the speed and  predictability, of approval timelines—particularly for innovative and complex therapies. Empowering regulators with advanced tools will not only enable timely evaluation of new products but also reinforce robust enforcement of quality standards. A well-resourced, technology-enabled regulatory ecosystem will foster greater industry confidence, encourage innovation-led investments, and ensure that patient safety and quality excellence remain central to India’s pharmaceutical growth story.

Targeted tax incentives for R&D-led companies, dedicated funding for high-risk early-stage research, and policies that promote industry–academia collaboration will be critical. At the same time, strengthening the role of CDMOs as long-term innovation partners—rather than just manufacturing backends—can accelerate drug development, enable faster technology transfer, and support the scaling of complex and regulated therapies. A forward-looking budget that integrates research, manufacturing excellence, skill development, and digital quality infrastructure will determine how competitive and resilient India’s healthcare ecosystem remains in the decades to come.”

Dr. Harsh Mahajan, Chair, FICCI Health Services & Founder, Mahajan Imaging & Labs

“As we look toward Budget 2026, there is a strong case for placing preventive healthcare and early diagnostics at the heart of India’s health policy. Rising lifestyle and non-communicable diseases make early screening not a choice, but a necessity. We hope the upcoming budget focuses on expanding tax incentives for preventive health check-ups, rationalising GST on diagnostic services and medical equipment, and supporting the spread of quality preventive infrastructure beyond metro cities. Strengthening digital health integration will further enable early detection at scale. Making preventive diagnostics more affordable today will significantly reduce India’s long-term healthcare burden.”

Masaharu Morita, Founder & Program Director, NURA

“As India prepares for the Union Budget, there is a crucial opportunity to reorient healthcare towards prevention and early intervention. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continue to place a growing burden on individuals, families and public health systems, yet many conditions remain undetected until advanced stages. Strengthening structured screening programmes and enabling technology-led risk assessment can help identify disease earlier, improve outcomes and reduce avoidable hospitalisation. Targeted policy support for preventive health infrastructure, workforce training and data-driven screening models can optimise long-term healthcare spending while easing pressure on tertiary care facilities. Encouraging public-private collaboration and integrating preventive screening into primary care pathways will be key to building a more sustainable system. A forward-looking budget that prioritises early detection, personalised risk profiling and preventive care can help India move from a treatment-centric approach to a healthier, more resilient population. This shift will support affordability, equity, productivity, and long-term national well-being across diverse communities nationwide and sustainably.”

Dr. Sajeev Nair, Founder & Chairman, Vieroots

“As India moves from reactive healthcare to preventive and predictive wellness, the Union Budget presents a critical opportunity to accelerate this shift. We hope to see stronger policy and fiscal support for AI-driven health platforms, digital diagnostics, and personalised wellness solutions that leverage genomics, biomarker intelligence, and real-time health data. Incentives for health-tech startups working at the intersection of AI, data science, and preventive care can significantly improve early risk detection and reduce long-term healthcare costs. Additionally, integrating wearables, remote monitoring, and digital therapeutics into insurance frameworks and public–private partnerships will be critical to driving large-scale adoption. A focused push on data infrastructure, ethical AI frameworks, and innovation-led healthcare can help India build a scalable, accessible wellness ecosystem that empowers individuals to take charge of their health before illness sets in.”

Mytri Macherla, Vice President & Sector Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA Ltd

“The upcoming budget is likely to focus on preventive healthcare given the significant rise in non-communicable and lifestyle diseases in the country. To boost investments in the sector, tax incentives for private sector investments in modernising medical facilities, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities and developing greenfield hospitals in rural areas will be a welcome step. Further, given the low doctors-to-people and nurses-to-people ratio, increased allocation towards training medical personnel would be highly beneficial.

The pharma sector seeks rationalisation of GST rates on key raw materials to address the inverted duty structure, restoration of tax incentives on R&D spend, and expansion of PLI schemes to strengthen API self-reliance. Increased public healthcare spending and targeted incentives for biopharma innovation are critical to sustain growth.”