Budget 2023: Update on healthcare and metal industry

Here are the healthcare and metal industry provisions included in the Union Budget 2023.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Wednesday, February 01, 2023, made various announcements during the Union Budget session of 2023 on upcoming development in the Healthcare and Metal sector and informed the house that around 157 new nursing colleges are to be established in the core locations across the country this will make quality care accessible to a larger population.

The budget also prioritizes the beginning of a brand-new initiative to support pharmaceutical research. Public and private medical faculties will be allowed to conduct research using the facilities at a few of the ICMR's labs.

100 laboratories will also be set up to create 5G-driven applications for healthcare and other industries, opening up a wide range of new options, business models, and job opportunities.

Around 7 crore people under the age of 40 will be tested for sickle cell anaemia as part of the government's focus on screening for and treating the disease, which appears to be a positive step. This will help address the endemic haematological diseases like anaemia that are common among the country's indigenous population.

In the metal space, to facilitate the availability of raw material, the exemption has been declared from basic customs duty on raw materials for manufacturing Cold Rolled Grain Oriented (CRGO) steel, ferrous scrap and nickel cathode.

Similarly, To assure the availability of raw materials for secondary copper producers, who are mostly in the MSME sector, the concessional Basic Custom Duty of 2.5 per cent on copper scrap is also being maintained. This step taken by the government will help metal companies to bring down their costs.

Some of the companies that were Top Gainers in the metal index today after the budget announcement are Jindal Steel and Power Limited, Jindal Stainless Limited, Tata Steel and JSW Steel.