Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal has said that India’s healthcare sector has benefitted from the Government’s continued focus on affordability such as reducing GST on health and life insurance from 18 per cent to 0 per cent, and lowering duties on medical devices, cancer care drugs and several essential medicines to make treatments more accessible and affordable for citizens.

Goyal further said that the Government is open to exploring further reductions in duties or cesses on essential medicines and medical products to ensure that more medicines are available at affordable prices. The Minister said that the Government would be happy to receive specific inputs from the industry on medicines and products that could benefit from further reduction in duties. 

The Minister assured the industry that this is a listening government, receptive to feedback, suggestions and ideas, and committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders to strengthen both domestic healthcare delivery and medical value travel. Goyal added that all such collective efforts - by the Government, medical professionals, and the healthcare industry - will cumulatively help in serving the people of India better and in positioning the country as a preferred global destination for medical treatment and wellness.