Govt to set up daycare cancer centres in all district hospitals over next 3 years: Sitharaman
New Delhi (PTI): The government will facilitate setting up of daycare cancer centres in all district hospitals over the next three years and 200 of these will be established in 2025-26, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Saturday.
Presenting the 2025-26 Union Budget, her record eighth, Sitharaman said 10,000 additional seats will be added in medical colleges and hospitals next year towards the goal of adding 75,000 seats in the next five years.
She further announced that gig workers will be provided healthcare facilities under PM Jan Aarogya Yojana (PM-JAY) and this measure is likely to assist nearly 1 crore workers.
The government will facilitate setting up of daycare cancer centres in all district hospitals in the next three years, Sitharaman said.
She said, "200 centres will be established in 2025-26 itself."
To provide relief to patients, particularly those suffering from cancer, rare diseases and other severe chronic diseases, 36 lifesaving drugs and medicines are proposed to be added to the list of medicines fully exempted from basic customs duty (BCD).
"I also propose to add six lifesaving medicines to the list attracting concessional customs duty of 5 per cent. Full exemption and concessional duty will also respectively apply on the bulk drugs for manufacture of the above," the minister said.
Specified drugs and medicines under Patient Assistance Programmes run by pharmaceutical companies are fully exempt from BCD, provided the medicines are supplied free of cost to patients, she said.
"I propose to add 37 more medicines along with 13 new patient assistance programmes," she said.
On adding seats in medical colleges and hospitals, Sitharaman said, "Our government has added almost 1.1 lakh undergraduate and postgraduate medical education seats in 10 years, an increase of 130 per cent."
"In the next year, 10,000 additional seats will be added in medical colleges and hospitals towards the goal of adding 75,000 seats in the next five years," she said.
She said medical tourism and 'Heal in India' will be promoted in partnership with the private sector along with capacity building and easier visa norms.
Also, broadband connectivity will be provided to all government secondary schools and primary healthcare centres, the minister said.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
