Health :: India needs 203 bn dollar by 2012 for healthcare
http://www.spiritindia.com/health-care-news-articles-11645.htmlIndia needs to spend a whopping 203 billion dollars (Rs 912,375 crore) on health services, with a significant private partnership, if the mission of achieving 'Health for all' is to be attained by 2012, industry body FICCI has said.
With a view to improve access to healthcare services in India, which would require huge funds in the next five years, the chamber has proposed five models of public-private partnership (PPP).
The models proposed are PPP options for primary and secondary healthcare, a network of diagnostic centres, capital expenditure sharing, equity sharing and premises on lease model.
"These partnership models would have to run in tandem with attractive fiscal incentives and meaningful regulation if the government mission of 'Health for All' is to be achieved and the bed to thousand ratio has to be raised to five beds by 2012 from the current level of 1.3.
In a detailed presentation to the government, the chamber has also quantified a shortage of 4,53,785 doctors, 1,290,174 nurses and a huge number of paramedics by 2012.
To attract private sector investment in healthcare sector, FICCI has recommended tax holiday for 10 years for building new facilities and upgrading old ones, extension of exemption to companies creating training in the medical area, industrial status to the sector and soft loans from public sector banks and reduction in custom duty on identified medical equipment.
FICCI has also called for income tax relief of 15 per cent subject to review after a five-year period and enforcement of quality in government hospitals, laboratories and blood banks.
