2019 Budget Reactions

Gaurav Jain, Vice President – Corporate Ratings, ICRA

The pharmaceutical sector will benefit from cascading effect of scale up in schemes such as Ayushman Bharat programme targeting health coverage for 50 crore citizens. The insurance scheme has benefitted 10 lakh people in last one year and the coverage/beneficiaries are expected to scale up going forward. This along with plans of universal healthcare coverage by 2030 augurs well for the pharma sector in the longer run. Higher disposable income owing to tax rebates will allow higher spending on pharmaceuticals in the near term.