Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman and managing director of Serum Institute of India Limited is critical about the “sops” and said that they would not translate into anything. “The budget is disappointing,” Poonawalla said. “Apart from a few good features, some cut in excise duties on pharmaceutical goods or drugs is not going to be a huge benefit.”

According to Anil Mittal, chief executive officer of Parenteral Drugs India Limited, the long-term effects of the budget seem to be a disappointment. “The budget is totally populist and does not provide much for the development of pharma industry in the long run,’’ he said.

But medicos like Dr Kalyan Gangwal, president of the Sarva Jeev Mangal Pratishthan, Dr Pramod Jog, president of the city unit of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics and Dr Hillary Rodrigues, president of the city unit of the Indian Medical Association, see a ray of hope for the rural health sector.

“Salaries of anganwadi workers will rise and private sector investment will also be encouraged in setting up hospitals in the rural areas,’’says Bhomi Bhote, CEO of Ruby Hall Clinic. The Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Aspects (CEHAT) activists were however a trifle disappointed as the “expenditure on health was far less” than what had been promised in the common minimum programme of the UPA government.

Dr Abhay Shukla of CEHAT raised doubts over the implementation of the health insurance policy to provide health cover of Rs 30,000 for every worker in the unorganised sector falling under the BPL category.