₹61,398.12 crore against ₹52,800 crore in 2018-19 The long-term trend of low government spending on healthcare may begin a reversal in the Union budget as the nation struggles to overcome the covid-19 pandemic that has claimed over 150,000 lives and infected over 10 million.According to the officials in health ministry, the budget may focus on public private partnerships (PPPs), further tweaking viability gap funding (VGF) options to attract private sector investors in tier 2 and 3 cities and invest more in healthcare to strengthen indigenous manufacturing of medical devices, personal protective equipment (PPE), and drugs raw material.Also Read | Dark underbelly of India Inc’s shop floorsThe total budget allocated to the ministry of health.