India’s federal budget for 2026–27 announced a series of measures for the health sector, focusing on expanding the healthcare workforce, strengthening care services and promoting medical value tourism, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech to parliament on Saturday.
Presenting the proposals, Finance Minister Sitharaman said the government would prioritise capacity building in health services as part of its broader efforts to fulfil aspirations and build human capital. The health sector initiatives were announced under the government’s focus on creating new professional pathways and improving access to healthcare services.
To strengthen the healthcare workforce, the Finance Minister said existing institutions for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) would be upgraded and new AHP institutions would be established in both the private and government sectors. The initiative will cover 10 selected disciplines, including optometry, radiology, anaesthesia, operation theatre technology, applied psychology and behavioural health. According to the budget speech, these measures will add 100,000 allied health professionals over the next five years.
The budget also outlined steps to build a stronger care ecosystem, covering geriatric and allied care services. Finance Minister Sitharaman said the government would develop National Skills Qualification Framework-aligned programmes to train multi-skilled caregivers combining core care and allied skills such as wellness, yoga and operation of medical and assistive devices. In the coming year, 150,000 caregivers will be trained under this initiative, according to the speech.
To promote India as a destination for medical tourism, the budget proposed launching a scheme to support states in establishing five Regional Medical Hubs in partnership with the private sector. These hubs will function as integrated healthcare complexes combining medical, educational and research facilities. The hubs will include AYUSH centres, medical value tourism facilitation centres, and infrastructure for diagnostics, post-care and rehabilitation.
Finance Minister Sitharaman said the Regional Medical Hubs are expected to generate employment opportunities for health professionals, including doctors and allied health professionals. The hubs will also provide facilities for diagnostics, follow-up care and rehabilitation services, as outlined in the budget speech.
The budget further proposed measures to strengthen mental health and trauma care infrastructure. Finance Minister Sitharaman announced plans to set up NIMHANS-2 to address the absence of national institutes for mental healthcare in north India. In addition, existing National Mental Health Institutes in Ranchi and Tezpur will be upgraded as regional apex institutions.
To improve emergency care, the budget proposed strengthening capacities in district hospitals by establishing Emergency and Trauma Care Centres, increasing such capacities by 50%, according to the speech. The measures are aimed at improving timely access to emergency healthcare services, particularly for vulnerable populations.
Finance Minister Sitharaman said the health sector initiatives form part of the government’s broader strategy to improve service delivery, expand skilled employment and ensure wider access to essential healthcare services, alongside measures announced for other sectors in the budget.