Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in December said that the government is seeking growth-inducing big ideas and inputs derived from introspection by industry, which would be used for creating a ‘budget as never before’. Speaking at the CII Partnership Summit 2020, Sitharaman said that the next Union Budget will help India emerge as the engine for global growth and economic resurgence.

The minister noted that health and investment in health would be the top priority for the government in near future. This would entail more funding not only for buildings and infrastructure but also for creating capacities for front line workers such as doctors, technology and skills for use of telemedicine, among others. The budget would take note of all the inputs received from the health sector to take this forward, she said.

She further said that India was fortunate to have the facility and capacity to not only produce the vaccine but also export the same for humanity’s sake. She invited private participation to help the health sector scale up, by investing in medicinal R&D, biotech, and pharma R&D, among others.