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Giving big relief to patients, Finance Minister provided relief to patients, particularly those suffering from cancer, and proposed to exempt basic customs duty on 17 drugs or medicines.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman announces big relief for cancer patients in Budget 2026
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the Budget 2026 that medicines or drugs used for the treatment of 17 types of cancer and seven other critical diseases will be made cheaper. The objective is to easy access to life-saving therapies with minimum financial burden on families, and strengthening our commitment to affordable healthcare.
Finance Minister said that to rationalize the customs duty structure for goods imported for personal use, it is proposed to reduce the tariff rate on all dutiable goods imported for personal use from 20 per cent to 10 per cent.
"To rationalize the customs duty structure for goods imported for personal use, I propose to reduce the tariff rate on all dutiable goods imported for personal use from 20 per cent to 10 per cent," Finance Minister said.
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Giving big relief to patients, Finance Minister provided relief to patients, particularly those suffering from cancer, and proposed to exempt basic customs duty on 17 drugs or medicines.
Relief For Cancer Patients
She said, "To provide relief to patients, particularly those suffering from cancer, I propose to exempt basic customs duty on 17 drugs or medicines."
The Finance Minister also proposed to add 7 more rare diseases for the purposes of exempting import duties on personal imports of drugs, medicines and Food for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP) used in their treatment.
"I also propose to add 7 more rare diseases for the purposes of exempting import duties on personal imports of drugs, medicines and Food for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP) used in their treatment," she said'
Seven Rare Diseases
Finance Minister announcement regarding 7 more rare diseases for the purposes of exempting import duties on personal imports of drugs, will be from the list given by the National Policy for Rare Diseases.
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National Policy for Rare Diseases (NPRD) lists:
