Cancer treatment to be available at district hospitals, more doctors in making: FM Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Feb 1 announced a major upgrade to the country’s medical infrastructure — the establishment of daycare centers for cancer treatment at district hospitals.

Also to meet the rising demand for human resources in the health sector, the government will add 10,000 medical seats over the next financial year, she said while presenting the Union Budget, and added the goal is to have 75,000 more seats in five years.

The health sector has been allocated ₹99,859 crore — an 11% increase over last year's ₹89,974 crore (revised estimates).

In a major push to expand cancer treatment facilities beyond big cities, she said daycare cancer centers will be set up in all district hospitals over the next three years, and 200 of them will be established in 2025-26, a step towards making cancer care more accessible and affordable.

These centers offer facilities such as biopsy, blood transfusion, and chemotherapy, treatments that do not require hospitalization for more than 24 hours.

Sitharaman announced that online gig workers will be provided healthcare facilities under PM Jan Aarogya Yojana, the government's flagship scheme started in 2018 to provide ₹5 lakh health insurance to 12 crore poor and vulnerable families, and later, expanded to cover several other sub-groups, including senior citizens aged 70 and above regardless of income. PMJAY has been allocated ₹9,406 crore for 2025-26, a ₹1800-crore hike over last year's ₹7,606 crore.

Allocation for the National Health Mission has been increased from ₹36,000 crores in 2024-25 to ₹37,226 crores in 2025-26, for National Tele Mental Health Programme from ₹45 crores to ₹79 crores and for the National Digital Health Mission from ₹225 crores to ₹340 crores from ₹225 crores.