In times of turmoil, a healing touch: Cancer drugs, med foods get cheaper in Budget

Customs duties on imported medicines for personal use and food for special medical use, have been removed. Duty on imported medicines typically ranges from 5% to 11%. Last year’s Budget exempted 36 life-saving drugs from basic customs duty. Budget has also proposed strengthening of India’s drug regulatory and clinical research ecosystem and creation of a national network of 1,000 accredited clinical trial sites.