As the Union Budget 2023 approaches, expectations are high for the Indian healthcare sector, Namit Chugh, Investment Lead at W Health Ventures, has expressed hope for increased allocation towards mental health and digital health initiatives.

According to Chugh, the allocation for the National Health Mission (NHM) and the launch of the ‘National tele-mental health program’ in the last budget were positive steps, but more needs to be done to address the growing mental health crisis in the country, and calls for additional funding to skill healthcare personnel, including mental health professionals, nurses, and lab technicians.

Namit further emphasized the importance of digitalization in the healthcare sector and hoped for increased allocation to boost the adoption and accessibility of the digital registry platform for healthcare providers and patients. This will create longitudinal data for the masses and will unlock several use cases and further advance India’s digital health agenda.