Budget 2025 for healthcare: Big changes in import duty for lifesaving medicines

Budget 2025: On Saturday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2025, with a number of important announcements aimed at improving healthcare in India. One key highlight was her plan to make medicines more affordable for the public.

Sitharaman revealed that 36 lifesaving drugs and medicines will be added to the list of medicines that are fully exempt from Basic Customs Duty.

Additionally, she mentioned that 6 lifesaving medicines will now attract a concessional customs duty of just 5%.

In another important step, Sitharaman announced that 37 more medicines, along with 13 new patient assistance programmes, will also be fully exempt from Basic Customs Duty.

These medicines and programmes will be provided free of cost to patients, ensuring that they get the treatment they need without financial strain.


On the same day, Sitharaman made history by presenting her eighth consecutive Union Budget. This achievement is particularly remarkable as it places her on track to surpass former Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s record of presenting ten budgets, which he set during his time as finance minister in the late 1950s and 1960s.

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