Comment

Comment by Health Systems Reserach India on February 28, 2011 at 3:55am

Budget 2011-12 and Health Sector
The Honorable Minister for Finance Shri.Pranab Kumar Mukharjee presented the Union Budget for 2011-12 in parliament today. Here is a snap shot of the major highlights of his budget speech regarding the Health Sector in India.
Budget 2011-12 and Health Sector

Major highlights for Department of Health and Family Welfare

The Plan Allocations to Department of Health and Family Welfare stepped up in 2011-12 by 20 per cent to Rs.26,760 crore.

Health Insurance

The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana has emerged as an effective instrument for providing a basic health cover to poor and marginal workers. It is now being extended to MGNREGA beneficiaries, beedi workers and others. In 2011-12, it is proposed to further extend this scheme to cover unorganized sector workers in hazardous mining and associated industries like slate and slate pencil, dolomite, mica and asbestos etc.
Service Taxes

Service tax was imposed in 2010-11 on health check up or treatment. This levy has resulted in differential treatment between persons who make payments themselves and others where payments are made by an insurance company or a business entity.This will be replaced with a tax on all services provided by hospitals with 25 or more beds that have the facility of central air-conditioning. Though the tax is on high- end treatment, there will be an abatement of 50 per cent so that the actual burden is kept at 5 per cent of the value of service. It is also proposed to extend the levy to diagnostic tests of all kinds with the same rate of abatement. However, all Government hospitals shall be outside this levy.

Comment by Dana de la Fontaine on November 24, 2010 at 8:33am

Interesting Publications on south-south cooperation in Asia, Africa and Latin America:

CEPAL 2010: Actividades del sistema de la CEPAL durante el bienio 2008-2009 para promover y apoyar la cooperación sur-sur: http://www.eclac.cl/pses33/noticias/paginas/1/38821/2010-123-10-Act...

CEPAL 2010: La cooperación internacional en el nuevo contexto mundial: reflexiones desde America Latina y el Caribe: http://www.cepal.org/pses33/noticias/paginas/1/38821/2010-166-SES-3...

ECOSOC 2008: Background Study for the Development Cooperation Forum. Trends in South-South and Triangular Development Cooperation: www.un.org/ecosoc/docs/pdfs/South-South_cooperation.pdf

ECOSOC 2008: Trends and progress in international development cooperation. Report of the Secretary-General (23.05.2008), New York.

IPC-IG / International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth – UNDP 2010a: Poverty in Focus (20): South-South Cooperation. The same old game or a new paradigm?, Brasilia: www.ipc-undp.org

IPC-IG / International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth – UNDP 2010b: Poverty in Focus (21): IBSA - A policy Dialogue. What can IBSA offer to the global Community?, Brasilia: www.ipc-undp.org

Kumar, Nagesh 2008: South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Asia-Pacific: Towards a New Paradigm in Development Cooperation Nagesh Kumar, in: RIS-Discussion Paper (145), New Delhi.

Kumar, Nagesh 2009: South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Asia-Pacific: Towards a New Paradigm in Development Cooperation, in: UNESCAP Working Paper, Bangkok: http://www.unescap.org/pdd/publications/workingpaper/wp_09_05.pdf

SEGIB 2007 / Secretaria General Iberoamericana: Informe de la Cooperación en Iberoamérica, in: Estudios SEGIB (2), Madrid: www.segib.org

SEGIB 2010 / Secretaria General Iberoamericana: Informe de la cooperación Sur-Sur en Iberoamérica 2009, in: Estudios SEGIB (4), Madrid: www.segib.org

Rowlands, Dane 2008: Emerging Donors in International Development Assistance. A Synthesis Report. International Development Research Centre – IDRC: http://www.idrc.ca/

TT-SSC 2010 / Task-Team on South-South Cooperation (OECD): Boosting South-South Cooperation in the context of aid effectiveness: telling the story of partners involved in more than 110 cases of South-South and triangular cooperation, Bogotá.

UN 1995: Technical Cooperation Among Developing Countries, Punkt 6 für die Agenda der neunten Sitzung des UN- High-Level Commitee on the Review of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (07.04.1995), New York.

UN 2007: The State of South-South Cooperation, Report des Secretary-General für die 62. Sitzung der Generalversammlung der Vereinten Nationen (23.08.2007), New York.

UN 2007: Report of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation im Rahmen der 62. Sitzung der Generalversammlung (29.05.- 01.06.07), Supplement Nr. 39, New York.

UN 2009: The State of South-South Cooperation, Report des Secretary-General für die 64. Sitzung der Generalversammlung der Vereinten Nationen (24.08.2009), New York.

UN 2009: Promotion of South-South cooperation for development: a thirty-year perspective, Report des Secretary-General für die 64. Sitzung der Generalversammlung der Vereinten Nationen (27.10.2009), New York.

UN 2010: Africa’s Cooperation with New and Emerging Development Partners: Options for Africa’s Development: http-//www.un.org/africa/osaa/reports/emerging_economies_2009.pdf

UNCTAD 2010 / United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: Economic Development in Africa Report 2010. South-South Cooperation. Africa and the new forms of Development Partnership, New York und Genf: http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/aldcafrica2010_en.pdf

UNDP 2009 / United Nations Development Programme: Enhancing South-South and Triangular Cooperation. Study of the Current Situation and Existing Good Practices in Policy, Institutions,

Comment by Banuru Muralidhara Prasad on February 27, 2010 at 1:22am

Budget 2010-11 and Health Sector

Budget Speech of Finance Minister

Major highlights for Department of Health and Family Welfare

An Annual Health Survey to prepare the District Health Profile of all Districts shall be conducted in 2010-11. The findings of the Survey should be of immense benefit to major public health initiatives particularly the National Rural Health Mission, which has successfully addressed the gaps in the delivery of critical health services in rural areas.
Increase in the plan allocation for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, from Rs.19, 534 crore to Rs.22, 300 crore for 2010-11.

Health Insurance

The Government had launched Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana on October 1, 2007 to provide health insurance cover to below poverty line workers and their families. It became operational on April 1, 2008 and so far more than 1 crore smart cards have been issued under this scheme. In view of the success of the scheme, it is now proposed to extend its benefits to all such Mahatma Gandhi NREGA beneficiaries who have worked for more than 15 days during the preceding financial year.

Direct taxes

Contributions to health insurance schemes which is currently allowed as a deduction under the Income-tax Act, proposal to allow contributions to the Central Government Health Scheme also as a deduction under the same provision.
Indirect Taxes

Structural changes in the excise duty on cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos coupled with some increase in rates. Proposal to enhance excise duty on all non-smoking tobacco such as scented tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco etc. Proposal to introduce a compounded levy scheme for chewing tobacco and branded unmanufactured tobacco based on the capacity of pouch packing machines.
Medical equipment, instruments and appliances are subjected to a very complex import duty regime based on several long lists that describe individual items. Multiple rates coupled with descriptions not aligned with tariff lines, result in disputes and at times prevent state-of-art equipment from getting the benefit of exemption. Proposal to prescribe a uniform, concessional basic duty of 5 per cent, CVD of 4 per cent with full exemption from special additional duty on all medical equipment. A concessional basic duty of 5 per cent is being prescribed on parts and accessories for the manufacture of such equipment while they would be exempt from CVD and special additional duty. Full exemption currently available to medical equipment and devices such as assistive devices, rehabilitation aids etc. is being retained. The concession available to Government hospitals or hospitals set up under a statute is also being retained.
The manufacturers of orthopaedic implants have represented that their inputs attract a higher rate of duty than the finished product. Proposal to exempt specified inputs for the manufacture of such implants from import duty.
Economic Survey 2009-10
The economic survey 2009-10 the policy suggestion for Service Sector calls for easing curbs on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Health Insurance. Page No: 168 (Opening some segments of the insurance sector like health insurance). This recommendation is based on “Draft Policy Paper on Services 2009” and “Strategy for India’s Services sectors: Broad Contours”, Working paper No.1/2007/DEA.
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Thanking You,

Best Regards,

Team HSRII