Pre-budget comment by Dr Pratim Sengupta, Senior Nephrologist and MD & CEO, Nephro Care India Limited

Section 80DDB of the Income Tax Act allows taxpayers to claim deductions for the expenses incurred on the treatment of certain critical illnesses including chronic renal failure, neurological disorder, AIDS and malignant cancers. Under this, individuals under 60 can claim deductions up to Rs 40,000, while senior citizens have a higher cap at Rs 1,00,000.

India has been witnessing a steady surge in occurrence of critical illnesses such as renal failure, heart ailments, cancer and stroke among others. The cost of hospitalisation and other medical expenses have been steadily increasing in the past few years adding a huge financial burden on people suffering from such ailments and their families. So, we feel there is a strong case for enhancing the deduction limit for expenses incurred on the treatment of such illnesses so as to provide the much-needed relief to people.

Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme (PMNDP) launched in 2016-17 ensures availability of dialysis services free of cost to Below Poverty Line (BPL) beneficiaries at the district hospitals in the country. However, dialysis does not necessarily require hospitals and can be easily conducted at clinics. So, we expect the extension of this scheme to be made available to stand alone clinics which are conducting dialysis.

(This story has not been edited by News Mania staff and is published from a Media Release)