Business
Budget 2023: Health sector needs eco-system for infra & technological growth, say Experts
After the Covid pandemic hit the world three years ago, the healthcare sector has become central for the 2023 budget as the industry awaits the Centre’s intervention to make health care affordable and accessible to all.
The Union Budget for 2023-24 is scheduled to be presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.
As per experts, the healthcare sector needs commercially low capital intensive projects at district and taluka levels to address large patient volume and access with affordable pricing for quality services. The healthcare industry is eagerly waiting as the experts believe that the government should enhance its budgetary support in increasing healthcare and insurance penetration following the pandemic.
Karan Rathore, Vice Chairman, Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC), told IANS, “In cognizance of the impact of the pandemic on the services sector, especially medical tourism and the healthcare sector, the industry expects innovative ideas to augment and accelerate engagement. To accelerate the healthcare sector and position India as a wellness destination globally with reliable and credible healthcare, the budget needs to provide and enable an eco-system for growth both economic and technological”.
Tourism policies and provisions, including facilitation of visas, infrastructure development, connectivity etc need to be the focus, but the more inclination should be towards the digitalisation of the sector by making it more customer-centric and easily accessible for all, the SEPC Vice Chairman said.
Recently, speaking at the Health Working Group of G20 India meeting, Dr V.K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, said that the Medical Value Travel (MVT) plays a crucial role in eliminating healthcare disparities across the globe and through the first Health Working Group meeting, G20 India Presidency aims to an impetus to create pathways to bridge this gap. “There is great opportunity for utilizing traditional medical practice like Ayurveda in the Medical Value Travel sector which is witnessing a combined annual growth rate of over 23 per cent”, he said.
Rajeev Taneja, Founder of Global Care, said that the Medical Value Tourism sector has suffered a series of setbacks in the last two years and the industry expects government support for the sector’s recovery. “Facilities, including visa approvals and ease of access, a repository for accessing information, and infrastructure development in not just the metro cities but pan India as well for pre and post-treatment care, are a few important steps that need to be accommodated in the budget. These will help boost investment and incentivize the industry, particularly in Tier 2 cities across the country”, he said.
The health experts believe that there is a need to make sure that the facilities and treatments are on a par with the international standard and a favorable budget will help with the same.
Underlining the need of healthcare investment in Tier 2 and 3 cities, Prateek Ghosal, Chief Strategy Officer, Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals, said, “In order to attract more private sector investment in Tier 2 and 3 cities of India, healthcare should be given infrastructure status which will enable access to low-cost funding as well as provide tax benefits, further reducing input costs. While during the COVID-19 pandemic, the RBI incentivized liquidity for emergency healthcare services by the extension of credit under priority-sector classification, this move should be made permanent, particularly for projects focused on creating infrastructure in Rural India,” he says.
“With the recent Covid experience at the back of minds, the healthcare industry expects a technology revolution in the sector, along with accessibility, easy availability, and affordability. Accessibility to quality healthcare has been a big issue in India, especially in Tier 2 and 3 cities. We hope the upcoming budget has some provisions regarding opening more tertiary care hospitals in underserved or remote areas,” said Abhishek Kapoor, ED, Regency Health.
Business
Adani Green Energy expands battery storage capacity to 6.63 GWh in just 14 months

Ahmedabad, Oct 1: Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) on Thursday said it has expanded its operational Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) capacity to 6.63 gigawatt-hours (GWh) at Khavda, Gujarat, from 3.55 GWh in June 2026.
India’s largest renewable energy company now accounts for more than 50 per cent of the country’s operational BESS capacity of about 12.6 GWh.
“Reaching 6.63 GWh of operational battery storage in just 14 months is a significant milestone for AGEL and India’s clean energy transition. At this scale, storage can make renewable power firmer, more reliable and dispatchable when the grid needs it,” said Sagar Adani, Executive Director, Adani Green Energy.
“As India’s power demand grows, we will continue to scale energy storage solutions, both battery and pumped storage, to support a more resilient, lower-carbon grid,” he noted.
The 6.63 GWh BESS can store enough clean energy to power around two million homes a day, and support peak electricity demand of cities like Nagpur, Patna or Vizag for several hours.
This BESS capacity at Khavda is equivalent to battery storage capacity of more than 150,000 mid-sized EVs and can store enough energy daily to meet almost twice the Delhi Metro’s estimated daily electricity requirement, underscoring the unprecedented scale of the installation.
The scale-up to 6.63 GWh strengthens the integration of renewable energy into the grid by enabling clean power to be stored and dispatched when required, said the company.
This milestone also consolidates Khavda’s position as the world’s largest operational battery energy storage installation at a single location.
The BESS is integrated with AGEL’s renewable energy (RE) development at Khavda, where the company is developing a 30 GW RE plant across 538 square kms of barren land.
The BESS uses lithium-ion battery technology, integrated with an Energy Management Systems (EMS) and automated telemetry to manage charging and discharging, optimise system performance and support grid services. Battery storage can improve grid stability, manage peak demand, reduce energy curtailment, and enable renewable power to be delivered when required.
AGEL said it is on track to add over 10 GWh of BESS capacity in FY 2026-27 and is targeting 50 GWh of storage capacity over the next 5 years.
Business
Sensex, Nifty open lower amid continued FII selling; auto, cement shares drag

Mumbai, Oct 1: Domestic equity benchmarks opened lower on Thursday amid continued foreign fund outflows with auto and cement stocks leading sectoral losses.
Sensex opened at 72,192.89, down 287.39 points or 0.39 per cent. Nifty began trading session declining 76.75 points or 0.34 per cent to 22,543.70.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto, Nifty Cement, Nifty Realty, Nifty Media and Nifty Healthcare were top laggards, plunging up to 2.76 per cent in early deals. Energy, metal and pharma indices also traded sharply lower, falling between 0.86 per cent and 0.95 per cent.
On the other hand, Nifty IT rose more than 1 per cent, while Nifty Private Bank also advanced 0.60 per cent.
The market remained under pressure after foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling streak.
On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers for the fifth consecutive session and offloaded equities worth more than Rs 10,148 crore, according to provisional data.
Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued to provide support, purchasing equities worth Rs 11,271 crore during the session.
Analysts said sustained FII selling, coupled with rising US bond yields, could keep large-cap equities under pressure in the near term. FIIs sold equities worth Rs 45,536 crore through exchanges in September, while investing Rs 9,676 crore through the primary market, they added.
The experts further noted that the near-term market structure remains sideways to bearish, with immediate support for the Nifty placed around 22,500-22,550 and resistance at 22,800-22,900.
They said a sustained move above the resistance zone could improve sentiment, while a break below the support level may keep selling pressure intact.
Analysts also pointed to crude oil prices as a key factor to watch, noting that a decline in Brent crude below $98 a barrel could provide some relief to the market.
Business
Sensex, Nifty open flat tracking mixed global signals

Mumbai, Sep 30: Domestic equity benchmarks opened flat on Wednesday tracking mixed global cues as investors remained cautious after foreign investors extended their selling streak to a fourth straight session.
Nifty opened at 22,665, down about 50 points or 0.23 per cent. Sensex began trading at 72,441.15, lower by 87.92 points or 0.12 per cent.
In early trade, the Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom index was top sectoral gainer which rose more than 1 per cent.
Meanwhile, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Chemicals, Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty Cement and Nifty Media also jumped up to 1 per cent.
In contrast, metal stocks were among the laggards with Nifty Metal falling 0.42 per cent. Healthcare and pharmaceutical indices were also marginally lower.
Market experts said elevated US bond yields were contributing to foreign investor selling, while the recent correction had created attractive valuations in parts of the Indian market.
“From the Indian investors’ perspective, this sharp correction in the market presents an opportunity. Largecaps with good growth prospects have reached attractive valuations,” they said.
Experts also noted that a correction in crude oil prices could trigger a market rally with largecap market leaders potentially leading such a move.
Technical analysts said the market could attempt to stabilise after its recent decline, with buying emerging around key technical levels.
Nifty had formed a hammer candle in the previous session, indicating buying interest at lower levels, while strength in select heavyweight stocks helped limit the decline.
The near-term structure has improved towards sideways to mildly bullish following the reversal from 22,600.
Immediate support is seen at 22,650-22,700, while resistance is placed at 22,950-23,000, according to the experts.
On Tuesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their selling streak to a fourth consecutive session, offloading equities worth nearly Rs 10,000 crore, according to provisional data.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided support, buying equities worth nearly Rs 7,000 crore.
In addition, Asian markets were broadly positive in early hours despite a mildly weaker Wall Street session, while investors remained focused on upcoming US economic data and global market trends for further direction.
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