3 cancer drugs exempted from customs duty

Context:

Union ministry announced exemptions of customs duty of three cancer treatment drugs.

Cancer drugs exempted from taxation:

Trastuzumab Deruxtecan

Osimertinib

Durvalumab

Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi Scheme

It was set up in 1997 and it is a central sector scheme.

It provides one-time financial assistance to poor patients living below State/UT wise threshold poverty line and suffering from life threatening diseases relating to heart, kidney, liver, cancer, etc. for treatment at any of Super Specialty Government hospitals/institutes.

The Umbrella Scheme of RAN has three components

Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) - Financial assistance for treatment of life-threatening diseases relating to heart, kidney, liver, etc. at Government hospitals/institutes having Super Specialty facilities; (Maximum financial assistance is Rs. 15 lakhs)

Health Minister’s Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF) - Financial assistance for treatment of cancer at Regional Cancer Centres (RCCs)/ Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCCs) and State Cancer Institutes (SCIs); (Maximum financial assistance is Rs. 15 lakhs)

Financial assistance for poor patients suffering from rare diseases - for specified rare diseases for treatment at Government hospitals/institutes having Super Specialty facilities; (Maximum financial assistance is Rs. 20 lakhs).